Dear Editor:
Re: West Van’s Population Shrank in 2016, Jan. 25 story.
Obviously our population has shrunk mostly because of unaffordability. We all know young families who would absolutely love to live here. Yet, where is the local government’s willingness to make the required changes that will refresh our population?
Doing nothing at the municipal level is not an option. And it’s just impossible to do anything individually. I tried to build a suite in our ground-floor storage area, but was denied due to West Vancouver’s restrictive FAR regulations. Suggestions to Mayor (Michael) Smith to copy Calgary’s financial help for new homeowners’ 20 per cent deposit went unanswered. Ideas to councillors to buy property and build pocket neighbourhoods for young families have gone nowhere.
There seems to be some “magical thinking” at play, that all will turn out fine if left alone. A representative from the municipality recently suggested on a CBC program that, if the current six per cent commercial level were increased to 25 per cent, the problem would be fixed. Please tell us where the employees of this additional commerce will live? We already have huge 3 p.m. traffic problems from our workforce heading to their homes – elsewhere.
Laura Groos
West Vancouver
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