Mike Polay has put Dunbar on the map in the competitive world of giant-pumpkin growing. His 1,161-pound “Orangina,” grown in his West 30th front yard this summer, won the biggest-pumpkin title at the BC Giant Pumpkin weigh-off in Langley on Saturday, October 5, 2024.
Orangina had to be grown under protective tenting to prevent her skin from cracking, so was a bit of a mystery for passersby this summer. But anyone who wants to see what a winning giant pumpkin looks like can check her out now in all her uncovered glory at Stong’s Market.
The Aug. 6 fire that destroyed an under-construction Dunbar apartment block, consumed two houses, damaged others, and forced 81 people to evacuate is a stark reminder of how disasters can happen anytime, anywhere, says Dunbar Earthquake and Emergency Preparedness (DEEP) director John Halldorson.
It’s also a reminder of how those who are prepared can keep their heads and even help out when disasters happen, said Halldorson, citing the actions of a group of residents who used buckets, hoses and ladders to prevent the fire spreading to nearby homes and gardens.
One of those residents just happened to be Katarina Halm, who has lived in Dunbar for 45 years and helped found DEEP in 2011. When she saw flames leaping hundreds of feet into the air less than a block from her home, she did what those trained in emergency-preparedness do – she stayed calm and worked with her neighbours to prevent the fire from spreading.
“People came running with buckets of water and everybody put their hoses out on the street and we got all the ladders we could find,” she recalled, noting that in addition to residents, many young women and men from farther away showed up to help.
“A courageous boy on our street and half a dozen kids came from far away to help. Some even arrived on bare feet. I gave shoes and we continued dousing the fire. I opened the door and filled buckets with water, left the water running in the sink and came in and out with more water. People were grabbing the buckets, tossing them on the embers, running back for more water again. “People spotted embers on the roofs and all in the neighbourhood were helping those who could climb to go up the ladders with hoses and buckets. A resourceful young woman stepped onto a chair that I put by her feet – from the chair she climbed a post to pull herself up onto a roof with the hose I handed her, pouring water on ember after ember until the roof was no longer burning.
“We all worked hard for a good half hour or so. The fire department focused on the main fire and neighbours helped on our streets. When the fire department turned to our street, some of us were evacuated to Crofton House School.”
Their work did not go unnoticed. Vancouver fire crews were stretched thin because of an earlier fire, and needed all the help they could get. In a CTV News report, Deputy Chief Robert Weeks credited support from civilians in the area, as well as from Richmond and Burnaby fire crews, for helping prevent further destruction.
Halldorson said the fire proved the value of a trained, prepared populace in times of disaster. As an original member of DEEP with some emergency training, Halm knew the importance of taking quick action and working with neighbours: “One thing is not to panic and to take what action you can.”
For Halldorson, who was driving down Collingwood when he was suddenly caught in a tangle of cars that were impeding first responders, the blaze emphasized the difference between those who help in a disaster and those who thoughtlessly make things worse. “It kind of showed the best and worst: Those who were wrapped up in looky-loo stuff, as if getting a picture for social media was the most important thing, and those who rallied quickly to do what they could to help.”
For DEEP chair Chris Green, the most important lesson from the fire was it showed the “latent reserve of willingness to help in dire situations that exists in the population at large” – as exemplified by those who jumped in to help put out the smouldering roofs of strangers.
“I think it is perfectly right to think that such spontaneous stepping-up will occur on a larger scale, and not only for the more crisis-type aspects of a major disaster’s wake,” he said. “It is people such as these who are going to be the backbone of the community-generated response after a devastating earthquake.” To harness that willingness, DEEP is developing a training program for the general public, which may be offered next spring.
Halldorson said the fire is also a reminder of the importance of readily accessible “grab-and-go kits” containing important documents and basic necessities in case of a sudden disaster like the fire. Many residents had very little with them when they had to leave their homes: Grace Wuschke, who lives on West 41st across from the fire, left with only her keys, phone and a flashlight.
Halm said the blaze has dramatically raised awareness on her block. “It’s very much a blessing in disguise in many, many ways. We had a disaster; everyone survived, and now we know to be ready. We all have our hard hats, our boots and gloves, and they’re not hidden away, they’re all ready. It’s not hypothetical anymore, it’s tangible, and it will be with us forever.”
Halldorson said the fire shows how disasters can erupt out of the blue. “It was a beautiful quiet evening in Dunbar, and who could know that people would shortly be forced out of their houses by fire?”
Or, as Vancouver Fire Rescue Service Chief Karen Fry said Aug. 7: “For those people who only think these types of events – and wildfires – (occur) in climates outside of Metro Vancouver, have a look at what happened last night.”
The blocks surrounding the Dunbar bus loop at Dunbar St. and 41st Ave. will look very different in future due to the provincial government’s new Transit-Oriented Areas legislation.
The new rules draw two concentric circles around the bus loop – one a distance of 200 metres and the other a distance of 400 metres.
Any lot within, or touching on, the 200-metre circle, will be allowed to have buildings 12 storeys high. Within the 400-metre circle, or any lot it touches, eight-storey buildings will be allowed.
“If the boundary of a Transit-Oriented Area bisects a parcel of land, the parcel of land is deemed to be wholly within the Transit-Oriented Area,” says a city of Vancouver diagram.
The diagram indicates that 12-storey buildings will be allowed as far as 39th Ave. to the north, 43rd to the south, to Highbury on the west and affects properties as far as Collingwood to the east.
Eight-storey buildings will be allowed as far north as 36th Ave., as far south as Southwest Marine Drive, as far west as Wallace and as far east as halfway to Blenheim.
The impacts of the new rules are already visible: at the corner of Southwest Marine and Dunbar there’s a land assembly sign announcing an “up to 8-storey development.”
The Dunbar and Kootenay bus exchanges are among 29 Transit-Oriented Areas in Vancouver, the result of new housing legislation passed by the provincial government in November of 2023. Most TOAs are centred around rapid transit stations and allow 20 storeys within 200 metres, 12 storeys within 400 metres and eight storeys within 800 metres.
Drop by Memorial Park on May 11, 2024 for a look at emergency planning in Dunbar
by Carol Volkart, DRA Newsletter Editor
Games for the kids, information for adults — and a peep inside that mysterious shipping container at Memorial Park West!
Head for the park behind the community centre on Saturday, May 11, 2024, between 11:00 am and 1:00 pm for a look at how the Dunbar Earthquake and Emergency Preparedness (DEEP) group is getting us ready for major disasters.
Volunteers will open the shipping container, which usually sits unnoticed behind the tennis courts, to unpack all the items needed to create a central hub for dealing with emergencies — radios and other communications gear, lights, tables, chairs, tents, bollards, and notice boards.
Put all together, it’s a Disaster Support Hub, which will be at the heart of Dunbar’s organizing and communications efforts in case of a major emergency. Residents will be able to go there to seek and offer help, and trained volunteers will be there to communicate with other emergency services and the rest of the city.
The exercise is aimed at getting us all better acquainted with how this will work and how we can get involved. Drop by with friends, neighbours, and/or the family — and yes, there will be a radio game with prizes so kids can get involved too!
Dunbar residents are beginning to see the effects of new city rules encouraging the construction of more housing in low-density areas like ours.
It’s especially evident in the area of 41st Ave. and Dunbar, where construction cranes and “rezoning application” signs are popping up in leafy neighbourhoods of single-family homes.
Most of the projects are happening under the city’s Secured Rental Policy, which encourages five-and-six-storey rental apartment buildings on arterials in low-density areas close to amenities, and four-storey buildings on adjacent side streets.
But new provincial rules will also affect the area. As a result of transit-oriented legislation passed last fall, the bus loop at 41st and Dunbar became a major public transit hub called the Dunbar Loop Exchange. Eight-storey buildings are expected to be allowed in the immediate vicinity.
Here are some of the projects expected to transform the south end of the Dunbar neighbourhood in the next while:
3449-3479 West 41st Ave. and 5664 Collingwood St.: Construction is already well underway on this six-storey market rental apartment building at the corner of Collingwood and 41st. Approved by city council in 2021, it will be 72 feet high and provide 114 secured market rental units.
3329-3429 West 41st Ave. and 5649-5683 Blenheim St.: This proposal for a 232-unit seniors’ residence, which has drawn significant opposition from neighbours for its height, massing, and shadowing effects, was approved unanimously by Vancouver City Council after an emotional public hearing April 9. Supporters said more seniors’ housing is desperately needed in aging Dunbar, while opponents, many nearby neighbours, said the height of the building will leave them in near-permanent shadow. Originally proposed at 92 feet, it has been reduced to 85 feet with stepbacks on the two upper floors to reduce the problem. All 50 trees on the 10 city lots the building covers will be cut down, along with six of 11 city trees. Another 24 trees on adjacent private properties are threatened.
5650-5690 Blenheim St.: A rezoning application sign on the lawn of a dilapidated, boarded-up house across Blenheim from the seniors’ residence announces a five-storey rental building under the Secured Rental Policy. It recently received rezoning approval in principle.
5650-5690 Blenheim St.: A rezoning application sign on the lawn of a dilapidated, boarded-up house across Blenheim from the seniors’ residence announces a five-storey rental building under the Secured Rental Policy. It recently received rezoning approval in principle.
6081-6083 Collingwood Place: This is one of two controversial five-storey market rental apartment buildings approved last fall for a quiet cul de sac of single-family homes off Collingwood south of 41st. While supporters argued that more such housing is badly needed, many residents told an October public hearing that the 55-foot-high building, which will provide about 30 units of housing, is incompatible with the neighbourhood and urged a different form of development. A key point was the danger of adding more traffic to the narrow, twisting road that services the cul de sac.
6065-6075 Collingwood Place: The bigger of the new projects for this area, this 55-foot-high building will replace two single-family houses with 94 units of housing. The November public hearing was dominated by supporters who argued that it would provide much-needed housing. To get around the traffic issues for this facility, council decided that all vehicular and loading access would be off West 44th.
Besides whatever happens around the Dunbar loop transit hub, there’s obviously much more development to come in this part of the community. Look south across 41st from the development site, and a land-assembly notice stares back. The next six-storey apartment building may be on its way.
As the Dunbar Lawn Bowling Club heads into its 2024 season, its leaders want you to know that rolling a bowl or tapping a croquet ball down a perfect green is a grand way to spend a summer evening or afternoon. “It’s relaxing outdoors in a beautiful setting and it’s lots of fun,” says Carol Guilbaut, president of the picturesque club nestled in the heart of Dunbar’s Memorial Park West. “Friendly is the key here.” While the club has recovered well from the pandemic, with last year’s membership above pre-COVID levels, membership chair Claudia Campbell says attracting and maintaining members is a constant challenge, especially in an aging community like Dunbar. And so Campbell and Guilbaut are working hard to build the club into the go-to spot for young and old alike in Dunbar. Anyone older than 18 is welcome. Lawn bowling and croquet are both on offer. Lessons and mentorship are available. Flexibility is key, with afternoon, evening and weekend games. There’s no requirement to commit to regular play or sign up for a team – teams are created out of whoever drops in that day. Social events such as barbecues and picnics are frequent. And it’s easy for newcomers to give the games a try; drop by the club any Saturday between May and October for a quick introduction to lawn bowls in the morning and croquet in the afternoon. Lawn bowling is a competition to roll bowls (rounded on one side, elliptical on the other, causing them to swerve) as close as possible to a small white ball called a jack. As with curling or bocce, much of the fun is knocking the other team’s pieces out of the way. Because it’s gentle on the joints and muscles, lawn bowling suits all age groups.
Which has led to one of the stereotypes that Campbell and Guilbaut are eager to eliminate. “We want to end the idea that we’re old-fogey retirees dressed in white,” says Guilbaut. Regular clothes are fine, she says, and more and more young people are discovering the sport. Youth bowling leagues exist all over Canada, and are well established in New Zealand and Australia, “where they have very popular evening beers-and-barefoot games that draw boisterous crowds.” Campbell says she’s been pleased to see members of Dunbar’s large Asian community joining the club and bringing others with them. “We’d be more than pleased to have other groups like that,” she says. There’s a reason for the emphasis on recruitment. The club is a not-for-profit society that depends on membership fees and rentals for most of its income. Membership is $125 for the first year, and $225 annually after that, with $2 green fees each game day to offset the cost of maintaining the green. Rentals – whether to families celebrating a special event, companies doing team-building exercises, or local groups needing a place to meet – are also important to its survival. The club leases the facility from the park board for $1 a year, and recently got a New Horizons grant to help upgrade the field, but a thriving membership list and enthusiastic volunteers are what keeps it going. While Guilbaut and Campbell’s focus now is the 2024 season, they’re also excited about celebrating the club’s centennial in 2028. In preparation, they’re asking longtime Dunbar residents to check their attics and basements for photo albums or memorabilia related to the club, the older, the better. “We plan to talk with people who had associations with the club in the past and even record interviews,” says Guilbaut. “We will probably have public events about this history.” The club also hopes to publish a history of lawn bowling – both in Dunbar and in Vancouver as a whole – by longtime club member Gary Parkinson.
Contacts General information – dunbar lawn bowling dot com Membership inquiries: Claudia Campbell 604-263-7317 Centennial 2028: Carol Guilbaut or Gary Parkinson
City of Vancouver 453 West 12th Avenue Vancouver, BC V5Y 1V4
Dear Mayor, Council and City Staff
Re: Vancouver Plan Implementation – Repeal of CityPlan Community Visions
The Dunbar Residents’ Association is immensely concerned about the recently released report going to Council on November 1, 2023 that proposes to repeal CityPlan Community Visions. We oppose the repeal. If it is to happen, however, we urge that CityPlan’s key central philosophy of robust community engagement be retained and that all Vision documents be permanently and readily available on the City’s website.
The Dunbar Community Vision was approved by Council in September of 1998 after a year and a half of extensive community engagement and consultation. While that was 25 years ago, our understanding is that Visions such as ours were intended to be living documents regularly updated with community involvement.
The DRA has always been eager to collaborate with the City on changes affecting the community and Dunbar Vision but, over the years, have noticed declining City interest. Now we learn, with only a few days of advance notice and no preliminary discussion, that the Dunbar Vision is to be eliminated on the grounds that it has been superseded by the Vancouver Plan and is supposedly at the end of its original lifetime.
We urge the City to institute a proper engagement process so that Dunbar residents, and all other Vancouver residents, can work with the City in helping meet the challenges of current realities. Whether the work is carried out under CityPlan or the Vancouver Plan, we believe the key to success is ensuring local residents are deeply involved in the evolution of their communities.
Our city is growing and changing and Dunbar residents would like greater opportunities to participate in the continuing development of our city and our neighbourhood.
City of Vancouver 453 West 12th Avenue, Vancouver, BC V5Y 1V4
Re: Public Hearing – Multiplexes and RS-Zoning Changes
Dear Mayor, Council and City Staff,
The Dunbar Residents’ Association wishes to state its opposition to the Multiplex proposal now before City Council. We have long been on record as supporting increased density to our area, but this proposal would allow excessive, overwhelming change without proper consultation with residents.
The information and engagement processes surrounding this proposal have been so poor that most residents aren’t aware of it even to this day. The reality is that not everyone is on social media or avidly following City Council or Shape Your City on the internet. No postcards were sent to affected addresses, so people did not receive any written notice either and are unaware of how severely impacted they soon may be.
While developers were heavily involved in the creation of this plan, community associations like ours weren’t even informed about it. Where were our workshops?
We urge Council to put the brakes on this proposal while a better engagement process takes place. Improve the plan. Then, begin with a small pilot project that tests its effectiveness and impact, and revise it accordingly before instituting something citywide.
The loss of trees and green space, along with parking and infrastructure problems are of major concern, especially when the resulting housing will be affordable to so few. And the plan would incur the demolition of older homes which have long provided affordable secondary suites for seniors, students and young families.
The DRA is a member of the Coalition of Vancouver Neighbourhoods and supports the points in its extensive submission on this issue. Please refer to CVN’s informative Appendix September 11, 2023.
Please consider our concerns and vote no to a plan that would drastically transform our neighbourhoods without the informed engagement of Vancouver residents.
Yours truly, Board of Directors Dunbar Residents’ Association
