KeyNotes article submitted by :
Rick Cook, MLAI, Vancouver Chapter, Global Initiatives Committee Co-chair
Rick Cook is co-chair of LAI’s Global Initiatives Committee. He consults as a land use planner and development consultant to private and public sector clients in the Metro Vancouver region of British Columbia, Canada.
Since 2010, he has helped to lead planning aspects of land use and subdivision resulting in a C$3 billion increase in assessed values (residential, industrial and commercial) for Tsawwassen First Nation, and he currently advises on development strategy for a 1,000 unit multi-family project along a future rail transit corridor. Rick has also served as President of the LAI Vancouver chapter.
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The LAI Global Initiatives sponsored webinar series on Home Ownership in Transition - A Canada-California Comparison begins on Thursday, October 26, 2023, 9 – 10:30 PDT.
The initial webinar explores the differences between acceptance of condo housing (5 or more units, apartment or townhome) in Canada compared to California. 38 percent of the new housing added in Canada between 2011 and 2021 was in the form of multi-family condos (5 or more units), compared to an estimated 3 percent in California.
With a moderated panel of experts with legal, insurance and regulatory perspectives, the inaugural webinar will educate LAI members and provide an opportunity to query the panelists. Confirmed speakers are Wendy Moir, CEO and Registrar, Ontario Home Construction Regulatory Authority; Tamara L. Boeck, Partner Stoel Rives LLP and Kerry Nagy, Vice-President – Underwriting, Travelers Canada.
Given the benefits of home ownership in providing housing security, community stability, and better use of household financial capacity in meeting the need for adequate and affordable housing; the webinar series will examine why there such large differences in current market supply in multi-family ownership housing between Canada and California.
The key recommendation is that California consider the systems in place in Canada that could assist with development of ownership multi-family housing (apartment and townhome condominiums) in the California context. Based on member feedback, future webinars will focus on one or more of the topics explored in the opening event.
LAI members Ken Cameron (Vancouver), Tim Youmans (Sacramento) and Rick Cook (Global Initiatives Committee co-chair) prepared the attached short discussion paper to introduce the topic and help prepare participants for the webinar.
‘Home Ownership in Transition’
Register for the October 26 webinar
Ken Cameron
Ken Cameron has served in senior planning and intergovernmental relations positions in Ontario and British Columbia. In his native Vancouver, Ken led the development and adoption of the ground-breaking Metro Vancouver Livable Region Strategic Plan and was a driving force behind the establishment of TransLink.
Between 2004 and 2009, he was Chief Executive Officer of the Homeowner Protection Office, a provincial Crown corporation dedicated to establishing and maintaining consumer confidence in the residential construction industry. Ken served two terms as President of the LAI Vancouver Chapter.
Tim Youmans
Tim R. Youmans is President of Tim Youmans Consulting. Tim was one of the founders of Economic and Planning Systems (EPS) in 1983 . Tim has more than 35 years of experience in assessing the economic impacts and financial feasibility of development projects and designing appropriate financing mechanisms for the construction of needed infrastructure. Tim has been LAI International President and Sacramento Chapter President.
Photos of LAI Home Ownership in Transition header, courtesy of Ken Cameron, Tim Youmans and Rick Cook
