Another year, another homeless count.

This week, hundreds of volunteers in Vancouver and across the region will be counting homeless people over a 24-hour period.

Theyll also speak to the homeless interested in answering a survey about how long theyve been on the street, where they last lived in a home and the state of their health.

People living in shelters, recreation vehicles and cars will also be counted.

A few months ago, I asked Mayor Kennedy Stewart and Housing Minister Selina Robinson to predict whether this years count in the city would find less, more or the same number of people without a home.

Neither politician would make a prediction.

Thats probably because the trend is against them, with homelessness in Vancouver reaching an all-time high last year, with 2,223 people counted over two days last March.

That statistic always comes with an asterisk. City officials believe the number of people counted each year is an undercount, with up to 20 per cent of homeless not reflected in the total.

City reports show the number of homeless people counted in Vancouver in 2005 was 1,364, then climbed to 1,847 in 2016. The 2,000-mark was first reached in 2017 and has incrementally increased since then.

Some argue the numbers have shot up because the general population in the city has grown. The facts are the general population has not increased at the pace that homelessness has in Vancouver.

Some argue most of the homeless people in Vancouver have come from other parts of the country and are attracted to the citys climate, its resources for poor people and getting a chance at subsidized housing.

The facts are last Marchs report on the count showed that a total of 81 per cent of 1,183 homeless people who agreed to a survey said they were living in Vancouver when they lost their home.

Of the 19 per cent who werent living in Vancouver, 41 were from elsewhere in Metro Vancouver, 72 in other parts of B.C. and 70 outside of B.C.

Anyway, the main argument people fighting on behalf of the homeless generally make is that all three levels of government arent doing enough to address the problem.

The facts are the provincial and city governments have for several years built supportive housing buildings, renovated single-room occupancy hotels, turned former hotels into temporary housing, opened year-round shelters and increased rent supplements.

In fact, the provincial government currently funds 925 permanent shelter spaces, 329 temporary shelter spaces and 145 "extreme weather" shelter spaces in Vancouver.

Over the last few years, a total of 11 temporary modular housing sites opened in Vancouver. That includes the citys first site at Main and Terminal, which opened in February 2017.

Another 58-unit complex is under development on Copley Street and should open this month. That will mean more than 700 homes have come on stream in less than three years.

Still, homelessness persists.

Provincial and city politicians have pointed to the federal government, saying it needs to get back in the housing game to make real progress in the fight against homelessness.

Some may recall that then-federal housing minister Jean-Yves Duclos was in Vancouver in November 2017 to unveil a $40-billion, 10-year national housing strategy that aims to reduce chronic homelessness by 50 per cent in Canada.

It remained unclear to me at deadline how that translates to Vancouver.

But add it all up the new buildings, the modular housing, the feds commitment, etcetera and Vancouver and the region should be, or should have been, on its way to moving people off the street.

The drivers, however, of homelessness are still very much in play: substance abuse and mental health issues, young people aging out of foster care, traumatic life events and chronic poverty mixed with a low vacancy rate, high rents and the loss of single-room occupancy hotels such as the closure of the Balmoral and Regent hotels.

For the first time since Stewart became mayor, he will participate in this years homeless count. I wanted to tag along with him, but his office declined my request.

I hope to speak to Stewart after the count to see if his experience on the streets has him any closer to making a prediction about whether homelessness will increase this year.

No matter what he says, well have to wait until preliminary results of the count are released later this year to understand the statistical state of the citys homelessness in 2020.

Until then, the guy sleeping under a tarp in the alley outside the Couriers office in Mount Pleasant could use a place to stay.

mhowell@vancourier.com

@Howellings

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Will homelessness go up or down this year in Vancouver? - Vancouver Courier

March 02, 2020

PEMBROKE The Pembroke Town Council rejected on Monday a rezoning request that would have cleared the way for construction of housing for homeless veterans.

The council voted 3-1 to deny the request from the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina.

With a burdened heart, I make a motion to not approve the request, Councilman Channing Jones said.

Councilman Ryan Sampson cast the lone no vote on Jones motion.

In February, the tribe asked the council to rezone the land from multi-family to residential district and to issue a conditional-use permit for the operation of a mobile home park to be called Veterans Village near Arrow Point subdivision. The request was tabled until Mondays meeting.

The tribe-funded project called for the placing of 20 14-by-64-foot single-wide mobile homes on a nine-acre tract of land off Darkwater Lane, located behind the Boys and Girls Club and Tribal Administration Complex, also known as The Turtle.

The homes would be furnished, maintained and secured by the tribe, said Bradley Locklear, Lumbee Tribal Housing director.

The proposal was made possible by a partnership between the Lumbee Tribe and the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

We were awarded these homes because of our performance and positive standing with HUD, Lumbee Tribe Chairman Harvey Godwin Jr. said. HUD gave us these homes for free.

During his presentation, Locklear was backed by tribal members who support the project.

Gregory Jacobs, a volunteer Veterans Services officer with the tribe, spoke about the homes and what the tribe does for its veterans.

This is our opportunity to utilize property that has been given to us, Jacobs said. Veterans bond together. They need a second chance just like anyone in here needs a second chance.

Im pouring my heart out to you.

Jacobs also told the council members that neighboring residents should not object to the mobile homes.

These homes are built better than modular homes, Jacobs said. I did some research, and 38% to 40% of the homes in Robeson County are mobile.

Gary Deese, retired military veteran, made a passionate plea to the council members, specifically to Mayor Gregory Cummings, a Vietnam War veteran.

I would like to plead to the council, a veteran to a veteran, Deese said. Consider our veterans and consider what this would be for our community. The word would get out that Pembroke is veteran friendly.

These trailers, I would not be ashamed to live in.

Council members assured the audience that whether or not the town supported veterans is not the issue.

To all the veterans in the room thank you for your service, Jones said. I most certainly know the need our veterans have. Theres nothing about the council that wants to anything but help our veterans.

Jones and Councilman Larry McNeill said the problem is the potential for spot zoning and issues with future developers wanting to open mobile home parks.

Its clearly inconsistent with the current development that is there, Jones said. The consideration is that if this type of development goes forward, can this council be consistent with future developers? This council has to make a decision based on everybody.

Councilwoman Theresa Locklear asked tribal leaders if they had a Plan B.

Not at the moment, Godwin said.

These veterans have been on our waiting list for the past two years, Bradley Locklear said. This was the plan to expedite it quickly.

Jones said the town would partner with the tribe in finding another route.

In other business, the council approved an amendment to the Unified Development Ordinance, Article 10 Table of Permitted Use, to add brewery as a permitted use. The board also awarded the applicant, the A.S. Thomas Center, a conditional-use permit to operate a mixed-use development at 205 Union Chapel Road.

The A.S. Thomas Center will be a 36,000-square-foot, mixed-use development that will feature retail, restaurants and student apartment-style housing with a total of 34 bedrooms. Developed by Thomas Properties Group in partnership with Metcon Buildings and Infrastructure, the development is the first in a series of planned downtown revitalization projects. Metcon will provide design/build services for the project.

Anchor tenants for the new space include microbrewery Lonerider Spirits Distillery & Brewery and New York Deli. The new center will replace the existing Pates Supply storefront on Union Chapel Road.

The total investment is around $8 million, Metcon President and CEO Aaron Thomas said.

A groundbreaking ceremony for the center is scheduled for 3 p.m. Friday.

Council members approved a request from the N.C. Department of Transportation to initiate a 30-day public comment period so town residents can give their input on recommendations contained in a Traffic Separation Study. The purpose of the study is to identify ways to reduce accidents and improve the overall safety at railroad crossings in the town.

A draft will be available on the towns website, and Councilman Jones requested maps be displayed at Town Hall.

Also on Monday, the council:

Tabled a request to amend the towns Unified Development Ordinance to add Public Safety Stations such as fire stations, police stations and rescue squads as permitted uses in a R-8 Residential District. The applicant is the Pembroke Rescue Squad, which currently is in a R-8 District.

Approved a resolution closing Union Chapel Road from Second Street to Third Street on Friday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. for the groundbreaking of the A.S. Thomas Center.

Set a public hearing date for the April meeting for a condition-use permit request to build a mixed-use development on Corinth and Prospect roads.

Jones

Gregory Jacobs, a volunteer Veterans Services officer with the Lumbee Tribe, asks the Pembroke Town Council on Monday to consider rezoning land to allow the tribe to develop Veterans Village, a housing project for homeless veterans. The council voted 3-1 to deny the request.

Tribe wanted to place home near The Turtle

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Red Springs contracts out tax collections - The Robesonian

Feilden Clegg Bradley has been chosen to design a scheme in Lewisham that will replace temporary modular housing designed by Rogers Stirk Harbour & Partners.

The mixed-use development is likely to contain about 200 homes, about 50% for social rent.

The RSHP project, Place Ladywell, contains 24 two-bedroom homes for families who would have otherwise been homeless. It has been runfor the past four years by the councils social housing provider, Lewisham Homes.

It was always intended to be a temporary use of the site, which was previously occupied by Ladywell swimming baths. The flats will be moved to a new location and the council said it would work with current tenants to determine where they will be housed.

Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, which is working with local artist Jake Sherwood, carried out a public consultation last week to come up with possible designs for the new scheme.

A spokesman for Lewisham Homes said site investigations would take place in the coming months to provide more context to design proposals to enable a clearer picture on what could be built and timescales. We then aim to meet again with the community in late spring/early summer.

It has previously spoken of the development containing 200 homes, with half being for social rent.

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RSHP's temporary housing to be replaced by Feilden Clegg Bradley scheme - Building Design

General Motors Chairman and CEO Mary Barra addresses the gathering Wednesday at an event detailing GMs electric vehicle technologies and upcoming products at the Tech Center campus in Warren.(Photo: Steve Fecht, Steve Fecht for General Motors)

General Motors wants to do better at tellingthestory ofits electric vehicle development.

So GM leaders invited about 150 journalists to an "EV day" Wednesday, showing 10 future EVs in its Design Dome at the Warren Technical Center.

The upcoming GMC Hummer pickup hulked in one corner of the dome and the Cadillac Lyriq, a futuristic SUV, shown across the aisle.

"We want to put everyone in an EV and we have what it takes to do it," GM CEO Mary Barra said.

What it takes is technology that GM said it's inventing to dominate other electric car companies such as Tesla.

For example, GM said it has developed new battery modules, called Ultium, that will reduce the cost to make the batteries and help consumers afford EVs. GMhas devised a flexible global platform, too, that allows it to make a variety ofpowerful EVs to meet all customer needs. They will have bettercharging time and givemore vehicle range than current EVs do.

The goal of all of this is to make sure the EVs are profitable for GM. Barra worked to assureinvestors the strategy will createnew revenue.

General Motors reveals its all-new modular platform and battery system, Ultium, on Wednesday at the Tech Center campus in Warren.(Photo: Steve Fecht, Steve Fecht for Genreal Motors)

"What we have done is build a multi-brand, multi-segment EV strategy with economies of scale that rival our full-size truck business with much less complexity and even more flexibility," said Barra.

GM will offer 20 new EVs for sale by 2023, said GM President Mark Reuss. Those will be available in the United States and China.GM said it targets selling1 million EVs a year between those two markets in five years.

GM will spend $20 billion between now and 2025, about $3 billion a year, onEV development, Barra said.

Here are the upcoming GM EV plans.

During the UAW contract negotiations last fall, union leaders worried that a proliferation of EV development would endanger hourly production jobs because EVs require less manpower to assemble. But Barra said GM's EV strategy will support jobs.

Does technology change and this becomes more efficient to build? Yes. But there are opportunities to grow employment with market share growth, said Barra. We had the Detroit-Hamtramck team in here last week and they couldnt be more excited.

The designs for the 10 EVs GM showed the media all reflect sleek, athletic and futuristic exteriors with technology-laden interiors.

Cadillac's entire lineup could be electric by 2030. To launch that will be the Cadillac Lyriq SUV.

Cadillac's first fully electric car will be sold in the United States and China, but there's no word yet on where GM will build it.(Photo: Cadillac)

The silver concept of theLyriq sat beside the concept of another future Cadillac EV, the Celestiq sedan, a stunning pearl white aerodynamic sedan with a long front hood and a hatchback tail. The car will be built by hand, locally, Reuss said.

"This is a dream car for the company and its customers," said Reuss.

The cars will be the "new face of Cadillac," designers said. The black-crystal grille on the Lyriqflows into the headlamps and surrounds the Cadillac logo in its center. Its roof slants slightly toward the tail with a wide wheelbase giving it an athletic stance. It sits on 23-inch wheels. It has a split-vertical tail line along the rear trunk area that will also be a new signature design for Cadillac.

Inside, the Lyriq has a 34-inch curved LED center display screen to give it an open cockpit atmosphere for both the driver and passenger to interact with it. Gone is a transmission tunnel, providing an area for extra storage space.Mass production of the Lyriq willstart in the second half of 2021.

There was also a Buick EV on display. It is not yet named. It will reflectthe new "more sculpted" face of Buick. It had a wide black grille with slanted headlights positioned above the grille area.

The new GMC Hummer pickup was shown in white. The vehicle is designed to be the future flagship of the GMC brand, GM said. It was a boxy crew cab body with Hummer's signature wide, sporty stance, fat tires, a low-slung roof line and short rear bed. It comes with a removable tarp top.

Next to it wasthe concept for the GMC Hummer SUV with its upright windshield and off-road capability.

"The message here is the reinvention of Cadillac, the reinvention of Chevrolet, the reinvention of Buick ... This is a real transformation of the company," said Reuss. "Now we just have to tell our story. We have to tell our story better than we have been."

GM holds about 3,000 patents related to vehicle electrification, Reuss said. But to capture Wall Street's attention and compete withelectric-carmaker Tesla, Reuss said GM has to tell investors about its advances in chemistry for new batteries and motor configurations thatenable GM to offer a wide variety of vehicles to consumers.

GM's EV strategy will center on a modular propulsion system and a flexible global EV platformpowered by new and proprietary Ultium batteries, he said.

GM engineers invented the Ultium batteries to have 60% more capacity for power than the current batteries used in the Chevrolet Bolt. The are also"large-format, pouch-style cells" that can be stacked vertically or horizontally inside a battery pack, allowing for them to fit into different designs of vehicles and to offer different power.

So, for example, the Hummer electric pickup will use 24 battery modules both stacked and laid side-by-side to give it the 1,000 horsepower it will offer.

Teaser image of the GMC Hummer electric truck coming in 2021.(Photo: GMC)

The Ultium batteries willcost GM less to scale its EV business to its current internal combustion costs because GMcan leverage its existing property, including land, buildings, tools and production equipment to incorporate it.

The batteries will be made at a facility near Lordstown, Ohio, that GM is building and has partnered with LG Chem to operate. GM will break ground on the plant this spring and when done, it'll be about the size of 30 football fields, GM said.

The Ultium energy options range from 50 to 200 kWh, which means a GM EV could achieve a driving range of up to 400 miles or more on a full charge with 0 to 60 mph acceleration as low as 3 seconds, GM said.

"We focused on giving customers more range at lower cost," said Reuss. "It starts with the state of the chemistry."

The motors will be designed in-house and can support front-wheel, rear-wheel, all-wheel and performance all-wheel drive transmissions, GM said. They use higher nickel and lower cobalt properties, which brings down the cost of raw materials to make them.

The new batteries are designed for Level 2 and DC fast charging capability. Most regular homes have level 1 and level 2 outlets. Level 2 is what would power a typical washer and dryer.

Most GM EVs will have 400-volt battery packs and up to 200kW fast-charging capability. GM's truck platform will have 800-volt battery packs and 350 kW fast-charging capability. That means using the public DC fast charging stations, in just10 minutes, a customer can charge these vehiclesenough totravel100 miles, said Rick Spina, GM's vice president of EV commercialization.

The average cost for a customer to charge a future EV at a public DC fast-charger would equate to about $3 a gallon spent now for gasoline, said Alex Keros, lead architect for GM's EV infrastructure. What that means is if a person recharges a car for say 30 minutes while in a grocery store, the cost to do that is under $10 and it would provide 250 miles of range. Whereas in an internal combustion engine car, for about $10 a driver might get three or four gallons of has which would provide 60 to 80 miles if the car gets 20 miles per gallon.

If a customer charges at home that's cheaper than using a public charging station sothe cost is closer to $1 to $2 paid pergallon of gasoline, he said.

Spina said with GM's goal to sell 1 million EVs in North America and China by 2025, it will mean the present number of public charging stations will need to double from the roughly 25,000 level 2 charging spots in the U.S. and Canada and 2,800 DC fast charge locations.

GM is working with companies that provide such charging locations by using OnStar customer data to show, anonymously, customers' general driving and parking trends to determine where charging stations should be added. GM is not paying to install the chargers nor profiting onthe customer cost to use them, Spina said.

"We don't want to be in the charger business;we don't want to own them," said Spina.

GM said the new batteries along with a flexible approach to EV development will drive economies of scale and create new revenue opportunities.

For example, there are presently about 555 internal combustion engines and powertrain combinations in production. The EV architecture will whittle it down to 19, said Reuss. The new EV batteries and other technology will allow GM to offer 235 horsepower to 1,000 horsepower propulsion to various vehicles, he said.

GM has a dedicated high-voltage safety team in place to work on ways to protect the batteries and electrical systems in the event of a crash or flood from shocking or injuring passengers, Reuss said.

GM said its joint venture with LG Chem to build batteries will help GM drive downbattery cell costs below $100/kWh.

This is all good news for Wall Street analysts who viewed GM's "EV Day" to be an important update on GM's strategy.

In an investor note Monday, Credit Suisses Dan Levy said GM has an advantage over its rivals in the electric car arena, still, "The push to an EV world will be tough for all legacy (automakers) including GM," Levy wrote, noting thebattery pack costs must decline by 50% to reach parity with powertrain costs, downsizing engine and transmission plants andbudgets must still be balanced against continued production of internal combustion engines.

GM might roll-out a solid EV strategy, Levy saidbut, "We believe the ultimate proof-point of success in GMs EV strategy is if the volumes materialize and GM is able to challenge Tesla for share in the U.S.EV market, as Tesla has been until now the only game in town in the U.S. EV market.

More: Cadillac has big changes ahead for its lineup and manufacturing

More: Here are GM's plans to make the GMC Hummer pickup a top seller

In March 2019,GM said it willspend $300 million to build a new electric car at itsOrion Assembly Plant north of Detroit. ButGM's Barra declined to release any details about the new EV or timing on the investment. A GM spokesman said the investmentwill unfold over the next two to three years.

Two UAW workers at GM's Orion Assembly plant where GM builds its Bolt EV and the self-driving test cars.(Photo: General Motors)

GM said it plans to add about 400 workers at the Orion factory, which currently builds the electric Chevrolet Bolt, autonomous vehicles for GM's Cruise unit, and the Chevy Sonic compact car.

More: GM plans to make new electric car, spend $300M, hire 400 workers in Lake Orion

Contact Jamie L. LaReau at 313-222-2149 or jlareau@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @jlareauan. Read more on General Motors and sign up for our autos newsletter.

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GM unveils 10 future EVs, new batteries and its plan to beat Tesla - Detroit Free Press

Councils will be encouraged to use modern construction methods such as factory-built modular housing to speed up the delivery of new affordable homes.

The Welsh Governments Housing Minister Julie James made the announcement as she unveiled a 45m investment to boost the growing industry in modern methods of construction (MMC).

The Welsh Government wants councils to build far more homes at scale and at pace; however, they face the well-documented capacity constraints faced by traditional house builders.

To deliver more homes quickly, councils will be encouraged to use MMC, which will help them build better quality homes faster than traditional methods allow, in order to meet the growing need for affordable housing across the country.

MMC includes various construction methods from new materials and technologies to off-site manufacturing, which either replace or complement traditional methods of construction.

MMC opportunities will also bring significant new benefits to the Welsh economy.To back Welsh business, ministers plan to help this next generation of homes to be built utilising national assets such as Welsh steel and Welsh timber.

There will also be a focus on using the emerging MMC industry in Wales to pursue Welsh social and ethical ambitions, including developing skills and market-leading technical expertise in communities hardest hit by the decline of traditional industries. Investment will also help firms invest in locally sourced labour.

Other benefits include:

As part of the Welsh Governments new MMC strategy Reimagining social house building in Wales, ministers are making a major 45m investment in the modular housing industry in Wales, to ensure it can deliver the next generation of social housing that people need.

Of this, 20m is being made available for MMC businesses, who in partnership with Welsh social landlords want to build the next generation of social housing. This investment is designed to help and encourage the market, especially SMEs, to develop off-site manufacture (OSM) solutions such as supply chains, factories, and skills development centres, that meet the needs of the next generation of social housing in Wales.

A further 25m is being made available for round 4 of the Welsh Governments Innovative Housing Programme, which will focus on innovative housing delivered through MMC.

The strategy supports the Welsh Governments ambitions to reduce carbon emissions from the housing sector. It also supports a move to a circular economy, as building with MMC could reduce construction waste by as much as 90%.

The Housing Minister witnessed MMC in action on a visit to SO Modular in Neath, who already supply the social housing market in Wales.

Housing Minister Julie James said:

Building more social and affordable homes is a key priority for the Welsh Government. Over the last 4 years, this Welsh Government has invested 2 billion in new housing across Wales, as part of our ambition to deliver 20,000 affordable homes by 2021.

But we want to build more. And we want to build better. The significant investment were making in the modular housing industry will enable us to do that.

Gone are the days of MMCs association with poor quality, temporary, pre-fabricated housing; MMC now produces high quality, desirable and energy efficient affordable homes that tenants can be proud of. We have certainly moved from Pre-Fab to Ab-Fab!

Developing the MMC industry in Wales presents us with a great opportunity to not only build beautiful new social housing, but also kick-start a new industry that will become increasingly important for our economy.

The publication of the strategy is in response to a recommendation made by the Welsh Governments Affordable Housing Supply Review, which identified Modern Methods of Construction as a way of more quickly increasing housing supply.

Community Housing Cymru, which represents housing associations in Wales, said it was pleased to see the strategy focus on sustaining the foundational economy in Wales by creating local jobs and using local materials.

Bethan Proctor, Policy and External Affairs Manager at Community Housing Cymru, said:

Modern methods of construction (MMC) promote the building of good quality, low carbon, affordable housing at pace and scale, and with housing associations committed to building 75,000 new homes by 2036, this announcement will help make this a reality.

There is already an appetite in the social sector to use MMC, and the Welsh Governments strategy and investment will open the doors for many more to develop off-site manufacture approaches, helping to build healthier, decarbonised homes, tackling the housing and climate crisis.

Joanna Davoile, Director of Development at Wales & West Housing, said:

WWH is really pleased to see the 45m additional funding for MMC, and particularly that 20m of that is ear-marked to support delivery of social housing.

The Welsh Government has set ambitious agendas to increase delivery of affordable housing and mitigate the impact of climate change. They are demonstrating their commitment to those agendas by offering funding and support for MMC.

MMC could help to improve quality in construction and the energy efficiency of new buildings, reducing costs to residents and the carbon footprint. As part of our strategy to build 2,500 more new social homes for Wales in the next five years, WWH is already taking opportunities to work with MMC. We are using off-site manufacturing and panelised systems on several of our new development sites and we are keen to do more.

The funding announced will help the construction industry in Wales stay at the forefront of innovations in MMC by supporting the development of the skills, supply chains, factories and products that will move MMC towards becoming a practical and affordable mainstream option.

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45m to Boost Modular Housing in Wales - Business News Wales

New housing proposals have been put forward for a "poisoned" former landfill site in Holmfirth.

Planning chiefs hope to use non-traditional techniques to build 64 modular homes at New Mill Road, with ready-made units manufactured off site and craned onto foundations to speed up the building process.

Concerns have previously been expressed about creating a housing estate on the derelict land, which is said to be contaminated by asbestos, mercury, arsenic and other toxins.

The latest scheme for 64 homes - to be called Holme Chase - would see three-bed semi-detached homes across the 5.5-acre site, which was formerly occupied by the Midlothian Garage.

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A report to the council's Strategic Planning Committee said: "The site is allocated for housing in the Kirklees Local Plan, and planning permission has previously been granted for housing.

"Whilst this permission has been granted, the development has not come forward, and as such the site is classified as a stalled site. In order to meet the councils housing delivery targets challenging sites such as this will need to be brought forward."

Sean Fallon of civil engineers Fallon Construction said the site was "appealing" and said his company wanted to create a "wow factor" with homes geared towards first-time buyers.

He said the steel-frame homes, which are insulated with rockwool, are "a third less to run per year" than standard houses - or 1 a day.

He added: "We believe this is the way to tackle housing demand; brownfield sites. A lot of other developers cannot look at brownfield sites because of the cost but that's all we've ever dealt with.

"We don't build on greenfield sites whatsoever."

He called the proposed development "a great opportunity to embrace change" and said the site was "a guinea pig" for further projects.

Several schemes have been previously put forward for the site, which has been allocated for housing in Kirklees Council's Local Plan.

A Tesco store was refused in 2011. Four years later plans were submitted for 56 homes with six being affordable. That plan eventually stalled despite approval by planners. It followed warnings of "huge problems" attached to building on the extinct tip.

In 2018 former Conservative councillor Ken Sims said overlaying the tip with a metre of topsoil was "absolutely crazy" and that the waste should be removed prior to the commencement of building.

He warned that Kirklees Council would bear the responsibility if children in the future suffered catastrophic health defects.

"I can tell you, because I'm old enough to know, what went down that tip. Asbestos, mercury, arsenic. Coal tar from the coking plant lower down and all the toxic chemicals that go with that.

"I don't want children in the future to be born with deformities, brain tumours and cancers that have been outcoming when some of these sites have been used."

Clr Sims was backed by his ward colleague Clr Nigel Patrick who objected to development of the site "in the strongest possible terms".

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Clr Patrick remains of the opinion that homes should not be built on the site.

Planning officers have acknowledged that measures were needed to "decontaminate and remediate" the site and that "no dwellings can be occupied until the agreed remediation for the whole site has been agreed, implemented and validated."

Planning officer Bill Topping said the council expected a planning application very soon, which his department would be supporting.

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Plans for 1-a-day homes on land 'poisoned with asbestos, mercury and arsenic' - ExaminerLive

In California, there is this debate between market dynamics and the need to invest in some sort of subsidized housing, said Matt Schwartz, president and CEO of the California Housing Partnership, a San Francisco-based nonprofit createdby the legislature in 1988.

Twenty-eight states and Washington, D.C., last year passed a variety of legislation that addresses the housing affordability problem, from tax credits for developers to rental assistance and eviction protections for residents, said Sarah Scherer, a policy associate at the National Conference of State Legislatures, a nonprofit with offices in Denver and D.C.California, Washington and Hawaii passed the most laws.

This year, legislators in eight states pre-filed housing bills before their sessions began, Scherer said.

Both Democratic and Republican governors are calling for affordable housing fixes. In New Hampshire, Republican Gov. Chris Sununu backs a pair of bills filed by a bipartisan group of young lawmakers that would offer localities more planning assistance and tax incentives and require planning and zoning boards to streamline building approvals.

It really is an issue that affects everyone, but especially young people, said Republican state Rep. Joe Alexander, whos sponsoring one of the housing bills.

Among the diverse efforts, state zoning proposals have become a hot topic, said Flora Arabo, national senior director of state and local policy at Enterprise Community Partners, a housing nonprofit based in Columbia, Maryland. Ive only seen the conversation increasing.

In addition to Wieners bill in California, Democrats have put forward legislation that would allow the construction of accessory dwelling units also known as granny flats or duplexes and townhomes on single-family plots in Virginia, Maryland and Nebraska.

Oregon last year became the first state to require most cities to allow duplexes on single-family properties, and larger cities to allow townhouses, triplexes and fourplexes.

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker, a Republican, filed legislation that would let cities and towns make zoning changes by a simple majority vote.

Its market economics, said Democratic Virginia state Del. Ibraheem Samirah, of his proposals to allow accessory dwelling units and duplexes on all single-family plots. Its a zero-cost solution.

A Georgia bill would copy North Carolina and Arkansas and ban cities from requiring most one- or two-family homes to have a particular aesthetic, such as a certain number of windows. Supporters of the bill argue that such requirements violate private property rights and can raise development costs.

I dont want the government to tell me what color my house has to be, said Georgia state Rep. Vance Smith, the bills Republican sponsor.

Wiener said his bill would increase the supply of both market-rate and affordable housing, and he recently announced amendments that would give cities more control over how they increase density.

But his critics arent satisfied. When Wiener held a news conference in Oakland this month to tout his Senate Bill 50, he was shouted down by members of an anti-homelessness group called Moms for Housing, who in an online statement argued that the bill would benefit real estate speculators.

Americans struggle to find affordable rental housing nationwide not just in expensive, coastal cities. Everybodys feeling the pinch, said Chris Herbert, managing director of the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University.

Nearly half of U.S. renters spend more than a third of their earnings on housing, according to the center, down 3 percentage points from 2011. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) counts people who spend that much on housing as cost-burdened.

However, the share of cost-burdened middle-class renters increased and the share among very-low-income renters stayed the same.

Inexpensive units $800 or less a month are disappearing, the center found. At least half of the low-cost units in metro areas such as Austin, Texas; Denver, Colorado; and Portland, Oregon, havegone since 2011. Most new housing these days is built for the high end of the market, the center found.

Fewer people are experiencing homelessness today than in 2011, but the number has ticked back up in recent years. Since 2015, the homeless population jumped by double-digit percentages in five Western states, led by California at 30%, according to HUD.

Housing experts say many factors are to blame for housing price increases. Land, labor and material costs have gone up in many jurisdictions. Developers have been slow to embrace cheaper production technologies, such as factory-built modular homes.

Local regulations and planning bureaucracy can restrict what can be built and slow projects down. City and state development fees and requirements add to building costs.

And as housing prices have risen, many peoples earnings havent kept pace.Increasing rents alone are not problematic, if wages can keep up, said Arabo, of Enterprise Community Partners. They just havent.

Meanwhile, inadequate congressional funding means only a quarter of very-low-income people get the federal housing vouchers they are eligible for.

The federal government stopped paying for new public housing decades ago, leaving cities and states to piece together money to subsidize units.

Housing affordability is particularly pressing in California, which is home to 12% of U.S. residents but, according to HUD, 27% of the nations homeless people.

Homebuilders and real estate agents there have championed efforts to roll back zoning regulations, such as Wieners plan to override single-family zoning rules near public transit and job centers.

In California, it can take 20 years to complete a development that in Texas would take a year or less, said Dan Dunmoyer, president and CEO of the Sacramento-based California Building Industry Association. Local fees can increase the price of a California home by hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Its cheaper to build three units as a triplex than it is to build three separate single-family houses, Dunmoyer said. You get some economies of scale.

Cities, however, oppose bills that would take away local control. We obviously have serious concerns about allowing developers to dictate land-use policy in our jurisdictions, said Jason Rhine, assistant legislative director for the League of California Cities, a Sacramento-based association.

The league opposes Senate Bill 50 and expects California lawmakers to put forward new bills this year that would override local rules, such as by allowing the construction of accessory dwelling units.

I dont know where were going to end up on those, Rhine said, but thats certainly been a hot topic among cities.

The league supports a bill that would give cities money for affordable housing and other development projects. But Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom last year vetoed a prior version, saying that a program costing $2 billion a year should be part of budget negotiations.

Zoning changes put a much smaller dent in the state budget. Legislativeanalysts projectedit would cost about $325,000 to administer Senate Bill 50.

Some affordable housing advocates worry that increasing the overall housing supply will accelerate gentrification and fail to create more homes for low-income people.

Were really interested in legislation that specifically targets families that are struggling the most, said David Zisser, associate director of Housing California, a Sacramento-based group advocating for people who are homeless or in need of affordable housing.

California lawmakers have introduced so many housing bills that they may end up passing a package that addresses land-use policy and money for affordable housing, he said. We need both.

Existing state law may prod city leaders to make zoning changes anyway, Rhine said.

Thats because California law requires cities to plan to house all residents and update their plans every eight years. Some cities are seeing big increases in housing need this planning cycle, Rhine said. Our cities are going to have to increase allowable densities, in all likelihood, in order to address those numbers.

Some governors this year have proposed big spending increases for affordable housing and combating homelessness. Minnesotas Democratic Gov. Tim Walz has called for investing $276 million in affordable housing. Newsom in California has proposed spending $1 billion to address homelessness.

Hawaii Gov. David Ige, a Democrat, wants to build 17,000 affordable rental units. And Floridas Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has recommended spending $387 million to fully fund the states affordable housing programs.

Yet some activists say the federal government needs to step in. I dont see the states and the cities replacing the loss of federal funding, said Paul Boden, executive director of the Western Regional Advocacy Project, a San Francisco-based group that advocates for homeless people.

Boden said hes weary of state and local programs that fall short of building enough subsidized housing.Thats why hes backing a long-shot proposal from U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, a Minnesota Democrat, to spend $800 billion on 8.5 million new units of public housing.

Lets get freaking real, Boden said, lets pass Omars bill.

Sophie Quinton, Stateline

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Single-Family Homes No Longer Sacred as States Turn to Zoning Laws to Lower Housing Costs - FlaglerLive.com

WHEN Lauren Harrison Short moved into a Hugg home at Chapel Riverside in Southampton following the breakdown of her marriage, the last thing she expected to find was love. But the she fell for neighbour Craig Lindley who was also renting there, and the couple now live together in Craigs Hugg.

The first pop-up housing scheme from Hugg Homes offers 22 high-spec modular mixed tenure homes. Private rents are below local market rates, making them an attractive alternative to over-crowded shared houses.

Lauren (pictured below with Craig), who works as an accountant for a cruise company in the centre of Southampton, needed an affordable place to live after separating from her husband.

She was looking for somewhere convenient and budget-friendly, so when she came across Chapel Riverside she knew straight away that it would be perfect.

Since moving into my Hugg, I have turned my life around, continues Lauren. I found an affordable place to live, which was an important factor given that I suddenly found myself living alone. The location, price and the fact that it was fully furnished all made it ideal.

It is spacious, high quality and a great design and all feels very well put together.

I have also just passed all my accountancy exams, and, most excitingly, I unexpectedly found love with Craig. I introduced myself to him in May last year and we met up for a drink with one of our other neighbours. We soon found that we had lots in common and we started dating. Craig is in a similar position, going through a divorce and living in a Hugg because of the great location and the reduced rent.

We decided to move in together when the contract on my Hugg came up. We both like the location and particularly love the great community atmosphere that has evolved here. Craig works as a health and safety manager, often commuting up the M3, and has two children who regularly stay over and enjoy sleeping in their bunk beds in the second bedroom.

Hugg homes are designed as a temporary, rather than a long-term, housing solution, and are erected on land thats lying dormant while going through the planning process.

Affordability is such a buzzword but the costs here are a significant saving on renting elsewhere in the locality, says Lauren. We are hoping to live here for the next year to 18 months, which will enable us to build up savings and then buy somewhere on our own. But for now it is perfect. We love our Hugg.

Hugg Homes is an innovative temporary solution to local housing needs, brought to the market by housebuilder Inland Homes. It aims to utilise land thats inactive while awaiting planning consent a process that can take years to create pop-up, developments for social and private rent in locations across the South and South East.

These are let in line with local housing allowance, offering low-income households accommodation that doesnt compromise on quality, space or design.

The developments consist of containerised modular units, which are manufactured to order, and arrive on site kitted out with kitchens, integrated appliances, tiled shower rooms, flooring and electric heating. The homes can be reused and moved easily.

A choice of one, two and three-bed Huggs means they can accommodate single occupants, couples and families, and some are let fully furnished. Each is carefully designed to maximise space. Residents also benefit from secure external storage and parking, and landscaped courtyards and play spaces. Rents start at 656 per month for the Southampton development, and Hugg Homes is working to deliver another 65 units across three new schemes in the next six months.

hugghomes.co.uk

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Lauren and Craig found more than just a bargain when they discovered their Hugg home - Metro Newspaper UK

Modular, recycled-shipping-container homes may be widely thought of as a practical and sustainable, but also temporary and often unattractive, living solution perhaps best suited for housing short-term workers or transitioning homeless people into long-term housing.

But this myth is being gradually busted, as such homes can be beautiful as well as extremely long-lasting, according to modular home company Honomobo.

The firms co-founder Daniel Engelman told Glacier Media in an interview, Its a new type of home, so theres still sometimes that psychological mindset that its a shipping container, so its meant to be shipped, its a temporary thing. But our clients no longer come to us with that mindset were past that. These homes are incredibly durable they can last hundreds of years, as opposed to the less-sustainable, 100-year lifespan of a typical wood-frame home.

Shipping-container homes represent a housing opportunity thats just as real as any house or condo, says Engelman, with banks willing to offer mortgages, and CMHC backing them as certified steel-framed modular homes. And, although this has not happened yet, Engelman says it will also be possible to resell the homes and the land they sit on in the usual way on the MLS.

Honomobo is only five years old, and interest in the company blew up about four years ago when it hit local media headlines for its innovation and flexible range of home models, and the story got picked up by some top architectural magazines. The interest from the public really hasnt let up since then, said Engelman.

The models range from the M-1 one-bedroom/one-module unit priced at $157,772 (not including land costs, consultation fees and construction fees) all the way up to the six-module/four-bedroom, 1,920-square-foot HO6 model, which has a base cost of $499,362. The M1 will be featured at the B.C. Home and Garden Show, along with a smaller studio unit that Engelman says is popular as a guest or office space.

There are a number of suppliers of shipping-container homes across North America, but Engelman says what makes Honomobo stand out is primarily the design. With the choice of one entire wall made up of glass, and two walls in the larger units, the homes look more like contemporary architecture than recycled shipping containers. And yet, says Engelman, the design of the home embraces its roots, with a minimalism and authenticity that he says is appropriate to the shipping container shell.

The glass wall also allows for indoor-outdoor living, and these huge windows can be upgraded to sliding doors which makes the homes live larger than they actually are, says Engelman.

As well as being durable, modular homes are extremely sustainable. These particular homes are highly energy-efficient and run 100 per cent off electricity, so they can be carbon-neutral if the owner runs it off solar power or hooks up to a green hydro supply.

Although Honomobo is based out of Edmonton, most of its customers are in B.C. and the Western United States. Engelman said there tends to be two kinds of customers. The first are those who choose smaller one- and two-module units as laneway homes (known in the States as accessory dwelling units or ADUs) placed in urban environments. The second are those who own land, often in somewhat more remote or island locations, and want an easy-to-build home for that site, either as a permanent residence or a vacation property.

Of the first type, Engelman said that most of his customers are in California, in pricey cities such as San Francisco, or in areas close to Metro Vancouver. He said, The smaller modules are often used by multi-generational families, where either the kids or the parents are moving into the ADU and the other part of the family is moving into the main house. It really helps with affordability and helps people stay in their neighbourhood, which in turn keeps neighbourhoods vibrant.

Engelman added that he was disappointed Honomobo has not yet been able to do this in the City of Vancouver, which has the same affordability issues as cities like San Francisco. The regulatory environment of Vancouver is really difficult to get anything done, so it just hasnt been possible for us yet, which is sad, he said. Instead weve done laneway homes in places such as Whistler, Squamish, and Port Coquitlam.

Also being featured at the B.C. Home and Garden Show is Honomobos Honomobar, which is a bar made out of part of a shipping container. Engelman says this "fun side project" has been a hit in areas where it has been placed as a pop-up bar in public plazas and in restaurant patios, and has prompted customers to order them for their own backyards or mini-businesses.

The B.C. Home and Garden Show runs from February 19-23 at B.C. Place Stadium. For more information, go to bchomeandgardenshow.com

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Shipping-container homes becoming a beautiful and permanent living solution - Vancouver Is Awesome

Thousands of Canadian veterans are homeless or without stable housing. Homes for Heroes, a charity, is trying to use construction and urban design to solve the problem.

The charity has begun building affordable urban villages in major cities across Canada where homeless veterans will be assisted in transitioning back into civilian life.

The villages consist of 15 to 25 individual tiny homes arranged in a park-like setting. All homes face inward to facilitate peer-to-peer support. Each home is less than 300 square feet in size, but fully equipped with all the features of a larger home. Each village also incorporates a central resource centre, counselling office, community garden and other amenities.

The charity completed its first village in Calgary last year and has a zoning application being processed for another one in Edmonton.

We saw this growing problem year after year, said David Howard, who co-founded Homes for Heroes with Calgary philanthropist Murray McCann. While its great to come up with an idea, we needed to make sure it is practical.

The team spent time meeting with more than 200 veterans living on the streets or in poverty. In doing that it really became clear that they want to be in a community of peers, said Howard. The barracks-style format really fits that. They can look out for one another while also having privacy.

Howard also explained that some who have lived on the street for a long time can feel a need to fill up a new space with possessions, leading to hoarding. He said this can impact their confidence and lead to further problems.

The whole program is to build a community and family of veterans who share the same experiences, and look out for one another, he said.

Howard noted that the groups first project in Calgary wouldnt have been possible without assistance from the construction community. ATCO a builder with expertise in designing, building delivering modular construction projects- built the 15-unitproject and donated $1.5 million to the charity.

These tiny homes showcase ATCOs urban design capabilities and will provide a home our military heroes will be proud to call their own a small gesture when measured against their herculean sacrifice, read a statement from the company.

Howard said the charity has also received massive support from PCL Construction and CP Rail. CP helped fundraise $900,000 for the charity and PCL has connected the project team with suppliers and contractors willing to donate or discount supplies and services.

Having those leaders in the construction industry is such a key to this success, said Howard.

Howard explained that modular construction allows the units to be prefabricated off-site while the site is being prepped. The method means a quick project delivery and minimal disruptions in the urban areas the charity plans to target.

In addition to assisting veterans, Howard sees the villages as opportunities to connect with the community and educate them about veterans. Veterans from the Calgary village are already out volunteering in the community. The village features park space that is open to the public and each unit is named after a fallen Canadian.

Howard explained that while the Canadian government estimates the country has 3,500 homeless veterans, he suspects the number is much higher. Those figures are from one-time counts done at homeless shelters where the respondents identify themselves as veterans something many veterans may not do for a variety of reasons. There are also many without homes who are only on the street part of the time or couch surf. He believes the number is closer to 5,000 or 6,000.

We are confident that a program like ours can end this issue in ten years, said Howard.

When veterans enter the village, a plan to transition back into housing and society is developed for their specific needs.

We are so grateful for Canadians and how they have shown respect for those who served, said Howard. Projects like this do not happen without their generosity.

Howard said the charity is currently in discussions to plan villages inB.C., Manitoba and Ontario.

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Homes for Heroes tackling veteran homelessness with clever construction - Daily Commercial News