as the seasons change so must we
Welcome back to spring. Another great ski season has ended and another biking season has begun.
As this blog is really all about helping people come to terms with the fact small town livin is simply a better way to live in this crowded, expensive modern world, I thought I would comment on how great my little ski hill is. After a fairly poor start with hardly any days of substantial powder, which was then followed by a melt freeze cycle, I was beginning to worry that I was going to have to go to the interior if I was going to ski any decent snow this year. But no, by the third week of February it started to snow and did not stop for the next 6 weeks. Epic is not a suitable description for some of the days. 40 cm seemed to be the average snowfall. The best part about this year was the consistently cold temperatures and a quality of snow that is usually found in the interior. First and fresh tracks were to be had from the beginning to the end of the day. To wake up and find 40 cm has fallen overnight and have a ski hill 25 minutes from my office is one of the reasons why we live here. But all good things must come to an end and fortunately, for those who live in the Comox Valley, there are many new sports and recreational activities to enjoy. Mountain biking is my favorite non skiing activity , but this time of year is also exciting for fishing, boating, golfing,hiking, sailing, kayaking, gardening and baseball. If you like doing something outside , this valley can accommodate.
Mountain biking is particularly dear to my heart and I have written the most comprehensive trail description and reviews available on Cumberland and Forbidden Plateau trail networks. Neither would be possible without the efforts of the trail crews and the excellent maps that are available at all the bike shops. The trail review is designed to work with the maps so that people unfamiliar with the trails can try and find suitable routes.
I am going to try and create a video for each trail or route and will hopefully post them throughout the summer. I have said it many times and I will say again: the Comox Valley has some of the best mountain biking available in the province and therefor the world. I cannot say that about the skiing, but have no qualms with comparing us to any other bike region. It would be great if the bike community could coalesce into a strong singular voice and seek more formal support, as I believe it is evolving into our strongest summer attraction.
As the seasons change in our reasons for living in this piece of paradise, so does the real estate market. After almost four difficult years, I believe that we may shifting from a winter to a new spring market. While the year has gotten off to a worse start statistically, the stories I hear are of the renewed interest of first time and out of town buyers. I am personally busier with both types this spring and I feel there are a number of real shifts that are fueling this increased activity. Interest rates remain at a historical low and an increase only feels more inevitable. The price of oil has gone up and so have Alberta’s fortunes combined with what I would suggest is a working population that feels more confident in looking for properties that may service their retirement in the future. The exodus of Canadian buyers for ultra cheap foreclosures in the south western US has begun to subside. The bargain basement deals have been done and a large percentage of Canadian buyers that were comfortable buying in the desert have now purchased. There remains concerns over the complexity of US real estate and the lowering of prices in the Comox Valley has once again made us a consideration for many near to or retiring Albertans.
The recent announcement of the new hospital that is to be constructed in East Courtenay, may prove to be the most influential and important factor that will drive certain segments of the market for the next five years. There are going to be a great deal of construction work and increased health care work with this project and I believe it will help rejuvenate the local economy. There is also a psychological shift that I think will also occur as it is a sign of growth to come and will make the area that much more of contender for people looking to retire to the island. While the retirement economy cannot be our only economy it is helping us through some dark global economic conditions. Hopefully the new hospital’s location next to the North Island college will help create a new medical training facility and the benefits that would be seen by increasing the education component of the valley.
Lastly I would like to thank the Comox Valley Business Gazette for interviewing me and helping promote the idea of a Technology Park or Hub in the valley. I will continue to try and build public awareness and hopefully support for the concept of a helping promote and create a technology industry through tax incentives and DCC breaks. After spending the last weekend on the North Shore and thumbing through their real estate offerings, I am simply stunned at the price of living in a place that is ( no offense North Shorers) not nearly as livable or affordable. The core of my being is absolutely confident that if we as a community made an effort to encourage technology industries to consider our valley as their home we would succeed.
Enjoy the spring and look for the updates on the trail reviews to reflect some of the new trails in Cumberland.
Letter to the Editor
I am writing this letter to put an idea into the public sphere. For the last two years I have been quietly harassing public officials about an idea I have for the creation of a task force to determine the viability of a technology or intelligence park in the Comox Valley. As a Realtor I am acutely aware of how the local economy is performing. It is no surprise to me that businesses in the downtown core have been having problems attracting business. Most of the shops are specialty shops and our local and national recession has greatly reduced the discretionary income of everyone in the private sector that I know. I have watched a number of young people and families pick up and go to where there is work. It is handy to blame the big box stores and the idea of sprawl as the enemy, but I believe the enemy is ourselves, and our lack of strong private sector employment. Costco or Wal Mart are not competing with a specialty golf shop. They do not have the selection or expertise that a true enthusiast would need. When private sector spending money dries up, so do the businesses that they support.
Our local economy was previously wealthy in natural resource extraction and processing. Long gone are the mills, the fish, mining and the large scale logging that created this valley with reasonable too well paid jobs. The local economy hinges on government work- military, health, education and support services. When there are large influxes of humans from Alberta and the lower mainland the building industry booms and when the economy retracts, as it is now, it busts. Without finding new industry we will continue to go through a boom and bust cycle and be primarily dependent upon the largess of government/ tax monies.
While there has been an effort to promote tourism and agriculture they are generally low wage paying jobs and often are seasonal in nature. Tourism is also very prone to the effect of the overall economy. I propose that we take a more visionary approach, that we as a community recognise that we want well paid technology oriented industries brought to the valley. I propose we pursue developing the Comox valley as a leading centre for technology companies looking to expand or relocate.
A technology park is a large building or series of interconnected buildings that have common facilities that small to medium sized firms can share such boardrooms, small conference areas and video suites for tele conferences. A technology park encourages the interaction between the different aspects of the technology industries. By sharing common facilities small companies can reduce overhead and spend time developing their product. By being physically close to other professionals engaged in IT work, there will inevitably be idea sharing and the formation of new companies and products. This is not a new concept and is very successful in Victoria where the tech industry is producing 1.6 billion dollars a year in revenue.
Technology parks have blossomed across North America and due to our relatively very low real estate prices and phenomenal quality of living, I believe that we are well positioned to take advantage of the strong technology sector in BC and AB and establish a tech park in the valley. We need to create a strong and stable private sector economy if we are to have a vibrant community that supports independent stores, artisans, restaurants and retains young people in the community. As a soccer and skiing coach of kids in their teens I find it deeply concerning that every young person I speak with envisions that they have no working future in this community. We have a College and good high school institutions that could easily be preparing knowledge based workers who could find work in this community, if it was here.
I work with knowledge workers all the time. They are one of the backbones of my business and all of them wish that there was some kind of centralised location where they could rent/ own office space that suits there business needs. There is an innate desire to congregate and have informal casual encounters with people who are engaged in similar endeavors. The current state of affairs in downtown Courtenay has led me to believe that if such a place was established in the core that it would solve many of the merchants problems and help reinvigorate the commercial heart of the valley.
Letters to the editor do not offer enough space to lay out the entire argument and proposal so here is a link to the idea www.jamessmith.ca/category/intelligence-park/ at the bottom of the blog is a pdf document that can be downloaded. I should note that I have made numerous attempts to get politicians of all political stripes to take a look at this idea and so far I can’t even get a phone call returned. So I am making a public plea. If you want to save your downtown, create a community that is economically balanced and successful we need to find a way to attract knowledge based companies and their workers . There are a two different parcels owned by the city of Courtenay that would both be excellent locations for an tech park that had a residential mixed use component in the downtown core. The single biggest problem facing the core is that in order to thrive it needs more people living and working downtown. Of course attracting this industry will take a concerted effort and will almost certainly require tax breaks and reduced development cost charges. Do we as a community have the vision and bravery to embark on this discussion or are we satisfied with a low wage service economy for retirees? I personally want a vibrant community that is healthy , wealthy and wise. Which can only come about if we have a successful sustainable economy, a place where our best and brightest see a future. The creation of a task force to study the viability of a tech park for the valley is the best place for us to start this process. I have had the privilege to meet a number of very well qualified individuals who are keen to see this come to fruition. They are all professional IT workers, whether they be designers, programs or project managers. They know this industry and should be the core of the task force. We will try and make a formal appeal to the council of Courtenay. If you believe that a knowledge based economy is what this valley needs, let them know. If anyone is interested in contributing to this discussion or concept please visit www.jamessmith.ca/category/intelligence-park/, leave a comment and some contact info.
James Smith
Craigdarroch Beach
Powder in Paradise
One of the main reasons we moved to the Comox Valley was the fact that it had a medium sized ski hill with some challenging terrain and a lot of snow. When skiing at Mt Washington before we moved here, I noticed that there was a ski racing program and that the kids were all good skiers. I guess I assumed that a smaller hill on an island that gets tons of snow would not have enough people interested in ski racing, but they did and it turns out that it is an awesome program. I should note that I and my siblings all ski raced as children, through college and University. I loved it and was happy to see that apparently there was great coaching at the mountain, because these kids ripped. When we moved here almost eight years ago, the first thing we did was get ready to put the kids in the Nancy Greene program at the Mt. Washington Ski club. The kids have been in the club since and every year I am more impressed with the coaching and dedication of the club executive.
This year my 11 year old was making the big jump from Nancy Greene to K1. He has been working with the same coach for years ( Burke) who has moved up with the kids as they age. It is a fantastic system that has allowed for a great relationship between himself and his kids. Not only is he a great skier and fun, he keeps them behaved, respectful and in control. A parent could not ask for a better situation. The club held the first series of races for the year and Mt Washington, was as always, generous with allocating a great hill for the GS and Slalom courses. While I have always volunteered for the races in the past and have foreran a few times ( s7 ‘s on a slalom course?) this time I had a child competing. It brought back so many memories of my own childhood and all the great times I had skiing with family and friends, I found myself overwhelmed by emotion on a few occasions. Ski racing is hard business. It takes a huge amount of volunteer effort and parent commitment. It is a challenging sport mentally and physically. It is also a very rewarding game that I feel very fortunate to have played. Because of the dedication of parents and club executives such Paul Francisty, Steve Frame, Terry Anderson and Troy/Kerri Perras and all of the Marmots, the Comox Valley is home to an incredible resource for ski training.
Creating a world cup ski racer does not have to be the objective. The coaches of the MtWashington ski club have been successfully creating a life long love of skiing for over twenty years and is a tradition that is becoming a multi generational experience as the the children of the program have grown and are introducing the sport to their kids.
When it is pouring in the valley, cold miserable winds are whipping and everyone cries over the weather, the skier smiles. Being able to get exercise, socialise and rip deep powder is certainly, in my opinion , one of the best things about this valley. My youngest is the third child through the Nancy Greene program and I am of the opinion that there is no better way to develop skiers then through that program . The coaches are some of the best skiers on the mountain and many of them competed at a very high ( FIS) level. They bring a youthful energy that keeps the kids going. To compliment the younger coaches there are also some senior coaches who have more experience and do an outstanding job of building great ski technique. I would argue that the long time coaches are the cornerstone of these young skiers skill development. Of course the proof is in the pudding and all the kids that come out of the ski club programs whether it is Nancy Greene or Kinder have great stance, technique and a love of the sport.
I wanted to write this particular blog as a shout out to new families in the valley or to people whose kids are just starting to ski to let them know that there is a great program available to them. It may have a slightly larger dollar and time commitment then mountain programs but, in my estimation, has much better value. Don’t let the idea of ski racing intimidate, its really about building strong ski skills and a life long love of the sport. There is also a great component of team building and camaraderie that these kids share as they grow up skiing steeps/powder and racing together. I would encourage anyone to contact me via phone or email or go to the clubs site http://www.mtwashingtonskiclub.com/ to get more information. There will be an opportunity to try out the club for a day this spring and I encourage anyone who wants there kids to become great skiers to give it a shot. While skiing and quality ski instruction may not be the least expensive recreation it’ still cheaper then say ….a boat. I was fortunate enough to have parents who felt that if sacrifices needed to be made so that there kids could have the lifelong gift of skiing then they would be made and dammit I’m going to do the same. If you view skiing as a gift then you can pretty much eliminate buying any toys or nasty video games for the kids. Give them skiing and nothing else, toys and nasty video games are fleeting, skiing is forever.
treat yourself to some real estate for Christmas
It’s the most wonderful time of the year. Ski season begins. I thought I would drop a quick note about the market and how much fun it is to buy real estate for Christmas. Bargains abound and if not, writing low offers is fine if you can close before Christmas. This is the time if year when many sellers have been on the market for an extended period of time and if it is slightly challenged and vacant it might offer a great deal. There is something about a clean offer that closes before the end of the year that gets sellers thinking about accepting offers that do not meet their earlier expectations. Here is a great breakdown of the current market RLP market conditions report Dec . One of the handy things about having Gregg Hart as my manager is that he takes the time to analyze the market so that we may share it with you. You will see that the numbers are not great, prices are up slightly but sales numbers are down. There remains a large amount of inventory and it appear that certain segments of the market remain weak, over 500k. It remains a buyers market, although is suspect that family homes and duplexes that are well priced for their condition and are priced under the 400k mark will see increased sales this spring.
Next is my pitch for a buyer(s) who would be interested in being part of a pilot episode for newest tv show. That’s right I’m going back to show business. The most popular reality tv shows seem to be real estate and cooking so I have decided to combine my expert knowledge and passion for both and shoot the first episode of “Beaters and Banquets” with some lucky souls who are prepared to sign a long winded release. Details to follow but essentially I will help a buyer(s) with finding a renovation project and then will walk the viewer through how to prepare a banquet for for friends and family . In this case though it will be for the buyers friends and family.
Radically balanced
In last weeks blog I used a term that I am still trying to find a definitive definition for ” radical balance”. The idea has originated in the polarised politics of BC, Vancouver island and the Comox Valley. I hold a degree in Political Science and have for as long as I can remember studied and contemplated the world political and I am absolutely confounded by the logic of our local Politics. I refuse to give up and fall back on cynicism so I would like to propose a new approach : ” radical balance” . I am going to make the radical suggestion that balance can be achieved between left and right , between sustainability and economic growth at the municipal level. Balance is something that is sorely lacking in much of the political or policy discourse. There is much hand wringing over water meters, homeless shelters and the level of taxation. How we spend our tax dollars and the implications of staff and council decisions are often overlooked until it is too late .
Let’s take a look at a couple of issues and see if we can’t find a radically balanced solution.
Affordable housing is a major concern for residents of the valley, and that in itself is a reflection of a number of other issues. Homes are more affordable when there is a strong income and a reasonable supply. We are a large valley of relatively affordable land with lots of water and transportation infrastructure ( roads). The land is almost exclusively held in private hands. Over the past twenty years as Courtenay and Comox have evolved there has been a sprawl outwards, but due to the low population the physical size of that sprawl has been limited. Over the last twenty years the price of lot has gone from 15000 $ to over 150,000$. The taxation ( direct and indirect) upon a developer to create single family lots now averages over fifty thousand dollars. In the same time period we have lost the traditional economic model of the natural resource sector. We have replaced it with a retiree service economy which does not offer the same level of wages in the private sector as the previous resource extraction economy . So we have rising home prices and lowering wages. Hence a lack of affordable housing. Housing in not affordable when you do not have the economic resources to support yourself or your family in what would be deemed a reasonable manner. I believe we need an emergency shelter for the homeless and those citizens who are the cusp of homelessness or who find themselves in a temporary situation that requires them to find alternative housing. But I also believe that it is a small part of the overall solution to creating a better housing environment for the citizens of the valley. Here are some ideas for how we can start to create more affordable housing.
There has been a great deal of discussion regarding sustainability and the reduction of our footprint. These are very positive ideas, and I believe will come to fruit when real effort is put into creating municipal regulations that will foster densification , not the lip service I have been listening to for the last seven years.
Make all illegal suites legal in all areas currently zoned for suites or duplexes. If they can do it in Victoria and Vancouver, surely we can manage. The city of Courtenay needs to make suites affordable for the home owner so that they will actually… like build one. The City’s current obsession of vacating all non conforming suites completely defies the concept of affordable housing/sustainability, which spews from the other side of their mouth. It’s time for the city to stop punishing people who have got suites in their homes. Leave up to the owner and his insurance company to dicker over the requirements of the suite , not the city. Feels like job creation for a slow building department as opposed to staff attending to the needs of it’s community.
Lane way homes in the Downtown core is another easy solution to provide affordable rental units and helps homeowners keep their homes affordable. Around the world it works, why not here? It would provide new humans to purchase goods from the downtown core, would reduce commuting and encourage densification which is at the heart of the sustainability movement.
Accept reality affordable housing should be situated where the land is affordable, right? There is a large lot owned by the city on Piercy that acts as municipal yard. The area is home to a number of multi unit complexes and is close to the downtown core. It’s time to move that function from that land and put it on land that is more appropriate a little further out of town. It could be agreat location for an eight story complex that could be affordable and sustainable.
Eight stories for the many seniors who are in older homes that they no longer want to maintain. Lets create a regulatory environment that encourages a developer to construct multi unit housing where it makes sense ( cents). If there was an affordable alternative to remaining in their older homes we would see more seniors opting into multi unit structures in the downtown core. The result would be a greater supply of single family homes for young families.
Right… we need young families back to that jobs problem again. If we had an abundance of jobs that attracted a youing demographic we could shift our elder to denser housing and move the young families into affordable homes because the seniors would have an affordable condo to move to and there would be a healthy supply of family homes.
Jobs it seems I am back to the jobs thing again. There are lots of regulatory controls municipal government can do to encourage job creation. Tax incentives, accessing grants for new industry and taking an active role ( no I mean like actually active) in pursuing industry. We have an economic development society whose sole focus seems to be on agriculture and tourism , yet no one has created a conversation with the large forestry companies who own the majority of the land in the valley and how we could utilise that land for agriculture. Not one penny of public money has been spent on mountain bike trails or their promotion, when we live in one of the top three bike areas in the country. Yet there appears to be millions for a water tower of a tourist centre. Time for some real economic development.
Local government can
- make development less expensive and therefore housing more affordable
- can rezone lands such as Maple Pool campground to become a location for a homeless shelter and affordable housing
- can create tax incentives to attract new industry ( jobs) and use their land base it controls to develop in a sustainable manner.
- not restrict itself to the recommendations of staff and special interest groups who are only working from a position of self interest.
- avoid left/ right positioning and view each issue for what it is.
- can lead this community into a new century of health , wealth and wisdom.
For this community to move forward the left must accept that development can be good and the right needs to learn that not every strip mall, housing development or business opportunity desirable.
Balance needs to be achieved in our outlook if we want to save parklands and create jobs. If we want to continue with our current level of taxation then businesses need to prosper, which they cannot do if there is no new industry. Without customers the shop goes outta bizness and then all ya got is an empty buildin’ with high taxes. That’s the lose lose situation I believe we are starin’ at until we find some balance.
I will be attending the election debate tonight in the hopes that there may be one candidate that gets some of these ideas. So far I remain skeptical.
