TransLink’s Universal Fare Gate Access Program to provide fare relief

When it comes to the delivery of public services, the goal should always be to improve access for people no matter their colour, race, religion, national or ethnic origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or mental or physical disability. Creating new barriers to access services is not acceptable.

When TransLink rolled out fare gates at all SkyTrain and SeaBus stations, the organization created a physical barrier that removed the ability for some people, who couldn’t tap a Compass Card due to physical disability, from independently using the system.

To TransLink’s credit, they recognized that this was entirely unacceptable, and developed a system that restored independent access to these stations for all previous customers. The system uses an RFID card similar to what some people use for accessing their apartment underground parking. When a person approaches a universal access fare gate, there are sensors above the gate that when they detect the card, will open the gate.

Fare gates with RFID card sensors. Select image to enlarge.

In order to be eligible to received a universal access card, people must be able to “travel independently and due to a disability, confirmed by a medical practitioner, are physically not able to tap fare media, without assistance, at a Compass Fare Gate.”

About 11 people in the Metro Vancouver have been issued this card to date.

The universal access card is not tied into the fare payment system. Due to the limited number of people who use the universal access card, and the high cost of integrating it into the fare payment system, TransLink is looking to let people who are members of the universal access card program to have zero cost access to the SkyTrain and SeaBus network.

In my opinion, this is the right move. The application process to get a universal access card is rigorous, so it is unlikely that people will be able to take advantage of this program.

By restoring independent access for people, TransLink restored people’s quality of life. The universal access card program shows that it is always possible to accommodate people no matter their ability.

An affordable housing toolkit, and how it could apply in Langley City

This summer, Langley City council approved our new community vision called “Langley City: Nexus of Community.” Our new community vision calls for an update to both our Official Community Plan and our Zoning Bylaw. The vision notes that there are current deficiencies with our land-use bylaws such as a lack of tools to support affordable housing options that spans the spectrum for people who are just starting off, need a helping hand, just started a family, or are in their retirement years.

Affordable housing in Langley City. Select image to enlarge.

The BC Non-Profit Housing Association recently released a document which outlines some of the tools that are available for municipalities in BC. There are two types of policy tools that municipalities can utilize: ones which can be legally enforced, and ones that can be voluntarily followed by developers. For policies that are voluntary, municipalities can offer incentives like the ability to fast track an application. Time is money, so this can be an effective incentive.

This first list of policy tools only requires the action of a municipality

OFFICIAL PLANS/BYLAWS: Official Community Plans and Zoning Bylaws outline the vision and goals for development in municipal land use and housing needs. Policies can include the protection of existing affordable housing and support for construction of new homes.

PROPERTY TAX: Municipal governments have powers over property taxes. Local governments can waive or reduce property taxes for co-op and non-profit housing providers in order to incentivize construction of new housing, or re-development of existing housing.

LAND CONTRIBUTIONS: Municipalities can sell or lease their land (with a long-term tenure) to co-op and non-profit housing providers at a reduced rate, or contribute the land at no cost, in order to facilitate the construction of new non-market housing.

COMMUNITY LAND TRUSTS: A community land trust acquires and holds land for the benefit of the broader community. Governments should partner with community land trusts to support the development and preservation of affordable homes.

TRANSPORTATION: As the need for more public transportation infrastructure increases, affordable housing near transit is in danger of being replaced with more expensive and less family-friendly housing. Municipalities can implement policies to protect affordable stock near transit and provide incentives for the development of new, affordable, transit-oriented housing.

FEE WAIVERS AND RELIEF There are a variety of municipal costs and fees associated with housing developments that can be waived, including development cost charges, community amenity charges, utility fees and building permit fees. Waiver of these fees can reduce overall building costs.

ZONING FOR RENTAL HOUSING: BC provincial regulations regarding municipal authorities have recently been amended to allow local governments to zone specifically to retain and encourage rental housing in their communities.

The second list of policy tools can be implemented based on density bonusing. Density bonusing allows a municipality to set both a base density for housing within a zone, and if a developer complies with affordable housing requirements, a higher density for housing.

INCLUSIONARY ZONING: Inclusionary zoning requires developers to create some type of non-market housing as a condition for new development sites. Municipalities can ask that a specific number of non-market units be built in a development and/or ask for a contribution to a municipal housing fund.

HOUSING AGREEMENTS: Housing Agreements are a regulatory tool, in the form of a contractual arrangement between local governments and property owners or housing providers that govern the tenure, occupancy, cost and restrictions on non-market housing.

This final list of policy tools can be voluntarily followed by developers, but cannot be legally enforced. As noted early, a municipality could offer incentives like a faster turnaround time for developers who voluntarily follow these policies.

DEMOLITION POLICIES: Demolition and conversion policies protect against demolition of existing affordable housing and replacement with more expensive homes. Polices can be implemented that make this difficult, with significant financial implications to developers who apply for demolition.

REPLACEMENT POLICIES: Replacement policies can establish a ratio of replacement for every affordable or rental unit demolished. Frequently, this is a one-to-one ratio. Municipalities can ensure these ratios are protected within their development and rezoning policies.

Some tools are not applicable to Langley City such as land contributions and community land trusts as the City does not own a significant amount of land that can be redeveloped. Other tools should be combined. For example, rental-only zones should be near high-quality public transit.

Some tools are harder to manage over the long-term for municipalities such as housing agreements which can be difficult to monitor and enforce. A better tool for communities with populations under half a million is to use inclusionary zoning with affordable housing owned and managed by an organization such as the Metro Vancouver Housing Corporation.

If I’m re-elected, I will look forward to seeing how we can use some of these tools as we update our land-use bylaws and policies.

Data shows green space being preserved in Metro Vancouver over last 7 years

One of the key tenets of land-use planning in Metro Vancouver is to preserve green space, whether it be parks and areas with sensitive ecosystems, or farmland. To accomplish this, our region has an urban containment boundary in which all urban development is supposed to occur. There are policies in place, agreed to by all municipalities in our region, that create a higher barrier to sprawl outside of the urban containment boundary.

Urban Containment Boundary and General Urban Areas Map. Select map to enlarge. Source: Metro Vancouver

Has our region done a good job of protecting green space? The answer would be a qualified yes. The following table shows the change in land-use mix in Metro Vancouver.

	Proportion of Overall Land Area in 2011	Proportion of Overall Land Area as of August 2018
Agricultural	19.8%	19.7%
Conservation & Recreation	47.1%	47.4%
Industrial	3.6%	3.6%
Mixed Employment	1.2%	1.2%
Rural	3.1%	3.1%
General Urban	25.2%	25.1%

There has been a small reduction in both land available for urban development and agricultural land, and a small increase in protected green space (parks and conservation). The following table from the October 5th Metro Vancouver Regional Planning Committee agenda shows how regional land-use designations have shifted over the last seven years.

Cumulative Changes in Regional Land Use Designation Amendments 2011 to August 2018. As a result of mapping clean-up through RCS, 0.3 hectares changed from undesignated to Conservation & Recreation, and 5.3 hectares changed from undesignated to Industrial. Select table to enlarge. Source: Metro Vancouver

Communities like Langley City have been long built-out, and all our growth comes from redevelopment. While this is the story for pretty much all municipalities in Metro Vancouver, there are still significant areas of greenfield land available in the following municipalities:

Municipality	Hectares	Percentage of Total Greenfield Land in Region
Langley Township	1,910	32%
Surrey	1,850	31%
Maple Ridge	1,330	22%
Coquitlam	680	11%

Greenfield land includes undeveloped land, former suburban land, and former rural land.

Over the last 7 years, the Metro Vancouver Regional District and its municipalities have done a reasonably good job of preserving green space. With continued pressure to transform the most productive farmland in our province into sprawl, we will need to be vigilant to ensure that population growth occurs in already built-up areas or in the 5,770 hectares of greenfield areas.

Election Update #6 - Partnering to Tackle Homelessness and Affordable Housing

This past term I have attended national, provincial, and regional conventions for local governments, and there are certain issues that everyone is talking about: creating affordable housing, reducing homelessness, helping people to improve their mental health, and linking people to resources to tackle substance abuse.

The good news is that we know how to combat these issues, and it appears that we have partners within the provincial and federal governments who are willing to help; municipalities cannot address these issues on their own.

As a council, we lobbied hard for a specialized provincial team to tackle these complex issue. In partnership with Fraser Health & BC Housing, we are now connecting people who are homeless with the stable housing, and health & social services that they need. This program has been successful but is now fully subscribed. I will be continuing to advocate to ensure that this program is expanded as it is one of the only ways to get people off the street for good.

Through Langley City’s new Nexus community vision, we will also be updating our bylaws to give us new tools which will enable us to create more affordable housing options for everyone, whether just starting off, in need of an extra hand, mid-carrier, or retired. I am, and will continue to be, a strong supporter of this new vision.

The opioid crisis continues to impact people in all walks of life. We need to ensure that our first responders have adequate resources to address this crisis, and work with our provincial healthcare partners to establish better education and long-term solutions.

I will continue to advocate for youth in our community to have positive opportunities available to them through our recreation department and in partnership with other community organizations.

These are serious issues that require developing good relationships with people in government and in our non-profit sector. While these issues will not be resolved overnight, I am fully committed to moving forward and ensuring that our community remains healthy, prosperous, and full of opportunity.

With your support, we can continue the positive momentum, bringing solutions forward for a better Langley.

If you are able to volunteer your time to help out on the campaign, if you haven’t already done so, please visit https://help.nathanpachal.com/.