Dear Editor:
I represent just one of the 61 renters soon to be displaced from the Emery Village complex in Lynn Valley. The complexes at Mountain Court and Mountain Village are also soon to be displaced. Recently I attended a meeting held by Mosaic Homes, the current owners of my complex. They are well into their planning to replace the current 61 units on this site with 299 new units.
The proposed redevelopment is to be a mix of new condos for purchase, as well as some new townhomes being built on the site. Some are even supposed to be affordable. But I am left to wonder if their idea of affordable is near what I would consider to be affordable.
Speaking to one of the facilitators at the meeting, I asked why it was that the largest parcels of affordable rental accommodation in the District of North Vancouver was the first thing they were looking to redevelop instead of the last in their "10-year plan?"
Basically, it comes down to the developers now own the land. And it’s their land to do with as they wish, so long as permits are granted. I mentioned that this will do nothing to alleviate the rental housing crisis here on the North Shore, and will at least in the short term make things worse.
He replied that this proposal is planning to replace rental stock at a 1:1 ratio! Except that isn’t really the case. The proposal in its current form will replace a current mix of two-bedroom apartments, and three- and four-bedroom townhomes with mostly one- and two-bedroom apartments built of wood frame construction, and in keeping with today’s modern standard, much smaller than what we have now.
Mosaic is of course offering some density bonuses to the district, including a new four-way traffic light at Mountain Highway at 24th. I don’t question the developers’ motives or intentions in this. ... It is indeed the business they are in.
I do question council’s motives in allowing these types of decisions to pass, when they have seen the same writing on the wall that their constituents have for many years, and yet have done absolutely nothing to address this pending crisis.
Municipal council tries to pass the buck up to the province, they try to pass it up to the federal government, and nothing gets addressed. The reality is that all three are responsible. If they seem to be able to free up funds just before elections, they have the ability to create a long-term housing strategy that looks after the needs of their constituents on all three levels.
While the area around the new Seylynn development is being built around major road infrastructure with significant improvements coming soon, Lynn Valley for some strange reason is being built from the middle out. And no major infrastructure improvements are planned to deal with the increase in density.
While Mosaic has been very forthcoming and approachable, and is at least trying to assist tenants with their upcoming relocations, there is much apprehension in the air amongst the people both here and at Mountain Village. No one can know how this will all work out, and to what extent our lives will change. But we do know that the places we have called home for the last two to 25 years will be gone.
These are honest, hard-working people who have spent (in some cases) their whole lives living in Lynn Valley. We are teachers, hairdressers, computer people, construction workers, tow truck operators, bus drivers, scientists, nurses, bank tellers. Most importantly, we are a part of this community.
We live here for a variety of reasons; some are single parents, others have sacrificed to provide their children with better education, some have cared for an aging parent or spouse with poor health, and some have recently retired.
All are regular people who you see every day, and for one reason or another could not purchase a home due to the cards life dealt, and are likely no closer to being able to do it today.
While a certain degree of speculation is healthy in a free housing market, we long ago passed that point as more and more people and families are getting pushed further and further out. As outlying communities grow at ever-increasing rates, this will have a negative effect for the population left here on the North Shore.
As more people reach retirement age, who will fill the vacancies for firefighters, nurses, city workers, doctors setting up practices, and teachers for our schools? Why would anyone want to apply here and spend three to four hours per day driving to and from work, paying gas and bridge tolls, when they could have the same job closer to home and spend more time with their families?
While governments at all levels seem to like coming up with a never ending series of platitudes about the status quo, none seem to have a vision of the future they are creating for the honest, hard-working people who have put their entire lives into making this a great community in which to live.
Terry Wagner
North Vancouver
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