Did your councilor show up for you last week?

Alright, let's talk about what was happening down at City Hall while most of us were probably still trying to figure out which coffee shop on Commercial Drive had the shortest line.

Councillor R. Bligh missed a couple of key votes recently. According to the recent Council Votes data, Bligh was marked "Absent" on April 21st for a Special Council meeting regarding a short-term rental business license at 1801-1788 Columbia Street. That vote still "Carried Unanimously," but it's worth noting. Even more significant, Bligh was also absent for the Public Hearing on April 14th concerning a text amendment for Canada Place and West Waterfront Road. That one "Carried" as well, but when you’re talking about waterfront development, you’d hope for full representation.

Meanwhile, it’s interesting to see the building permits issued. On July 29th, a permit for a $400,000 net-zero laneway house at 1938 E 61st Avenue #3 was issued. That's a decent chunk of change for a laneway. Then there's the big one: a $1,000,000 permit for a two-family dwelling with two secondary suites at 1841 E 34th Avenue. That's some serious density coming to a low-density neighbourhood. It's a clear sign of how Vancouver is trying to squeeze more housing into every possible corner.

Beautiful out here. Complicated in here. That's the coast.

Kenji Nakashima, MiTL Sports Desk, Vancouver.

You know, the team goes through all of this and more every morning – check it out at mornings.live.