In a bid to reduce our opinion footprint, we begin 2020 by recycling a couple of pleas from 2019. First, it’s time for the City of North Vancouver to approve a new Harry Jerome rec centre. For real. No take-backs this time.
Attempts to replace the half-century old cinder block structure have been delayed, de-prioritized and denied while the estimated replacement costs have inflated like a president’s ego. There was a four-month window in 2018 when a $210-million rec centre was approved but, like a great many new year’s resolutions, it disappeared before daylight.
Speaking of vanishing projects, it was about 13 months ago that District of North Vancouver council looked at a Delbrook parking lot, envisioned 80 below-market rental homes on the site, and opted to stick with the parking lot. At the time, Coun. Jim Hanson summarized his opposition by explaining: “we can do better.”
Since then we’ve witnessed extensive discussions with the Delbrook neighbours and a relative dearth of conversation with housing partners who could perform the magic trick of pulling low-income housing out of that parking lot.
Lastly, we turn our eyes to West Vancouver where a municipally-owned parcel at 2195 Gordon Ave. offers council a chance to build housing that will make a visible impact on the community’s largely invisible poverty. There will be a groundswell urging council to await consensus. We hope they stand their ground. Renters adrift amid the most obscenely-priced housing in the region can’t afford to wait for a consensus that, like the B-Line in Dundarave, isn’t arriving any time soon.
There are good, forward-thinking people on each council. We know they can do better. This year, we hope they will.
