NEWS 10
Pipeline cleanup complete
COMMUNITY 11
Hummingbirds a humming
ARTS 14
5
Portrait exhibit coming soon
THINGS TO DO THIS WEEKEND FRIDAY JANUARY 8 2016
LOCAL NEWS – LOCAL MATTERS
There’s more at Burnabynow.com
SEE PAGE 13
Volkow wants the madness to stop City councillor says real estate is much more than an investment
By Jeremy Deutsch
jdeutsch@burnabynow.com
Burnaby city councillor Nick Volkow knows firsthand just how wild the housing market has become in Metro Vancouver. He was one of the roughly 7,000 property owners in the city who received a letter in December giving him a heads up the value of the modest home he bought more than 30 years ago would now be worth well into seven figures. Specifically, the value of Volkow’s home on Gilpin Crescent was set to increase by about 35 per cent, to $1.31 million from $956,000 just a year ago. He jokingly described it as a letter to prevent people from having a “jammer” at the door when they get their real assessments in the new year. This week, the value of his home was confirmed when he got his official assessment, and he’s not thrilled. Volkow has been outspoken on the issue in recent
MILLION-DOLLAR-MANSION? City councillor Nick Volkow’s home was assessed at $1.3 million for 2016, which marked a 35 per cent increase in the value of his property from last year. He’s concerned the housing market is unattainable for young people. PHOTO JEREMY DEUTSCH
weeks, mostly over the concern of what an ever-increasing market will mean for younger people trying to get in on the action. He said he’s tired of hearing the real estate industry
refer to purchasing a home as the “biggest investment” someone will make. “You’re buying a home to establish a family, to establish yourself in the community,” he told the NOW.
“It’s a base for your life, it’s not an investment.The language in the conversation in the region has got to change. If we allow the real estate community and the development community
and the banking community define the conversation, well then, this madness is going to continue.” The Burnaby politician is calling on the federal and provincial government to
step in and deal with the issue, also arguing for what he described as an “onerous” speculation or vacancy tax. Volkow’s situation is not particularly unique. Continued on page 4
Could there be two new ice rinks in the works? By Jeremy Deutsch
jdeutsch@burnabynow.com
If you’re looking to lace up the skates and take to the ice on a city-owned rink in Burnaby, there are only three choices. But that
could soon change. Late last year, city council asked staff to look at the possibility of building more ice in the south slope of the city and authorized a feasibility study. Dave Ellenwood, Burna-
by’s director of parks, recreation and cultural services, explained the study is looking at several locations for a new facility in the city and also whether to build one rink or a twin rink. A couple of possible lo-
cations for the new facility include the Edmonds area and Bonsor Park, but he noted a final decision hasn’t been made. Ellenwood also said the city is still studying the demand for one or two rinks,
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2014
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the NOW. Ellenwood suggested demand for ice time is an important consideration in the process, pointing out the last arena service review was years ago, and since, there Continued on page 8
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adding a two-rink facility would likely have multi-purposes. “I think we’re going to try and make it as functional as possible but not leave it short in terms of amenities like meeting space,” he told
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