https://www.westerlynews.ca/news/tofino-housing-project-clears-zoning-hurdle/
I guess there are more virtue signalling points with subsidized housing than salmon habitat preservation. The district has hundreds of acres of land yet they choose to build right next to MacKenzie Creek . There has been no land rezoned for a multi-lot subdivision since the Yew Wood project a decade ago.
16 comments:
58% of the land in Tofino sits undeveloped. Council could do practically anything with this land that it chooses to do. It could, if it wanted, rezone and sell a chunk of it to developers to build homes on, or duplexes, or an apartment building. It could sell this rezoned land for any price the District chooses, $16,000,000.00 for example. Gee, I wonder what we could use 16 million dollars for?
Development of this rezoned land would then yield a small fortune to Tofino in development fees, building fees, amenities contributions and the like. Money that could supply a good chunk of the cash we need to upgrade our water supply.
This new housing would then make a significant increase to the tax base. More money, and less need to go into debt.
Now, let's talk about whether or not Tofino needs any additional housing. Anyone out there try to find a place to live lately? Don't need to say much more about that subject, unless you've been living under a rock. (Which actually is about the only vacant space available)
The mayor claims that private developers are not capable of solving the affordable housing shortage. What planet is this lady from? What is obvious, looking at the proposed Sharp Rd project, is that The Tofino Housing Corp. is not capable of doing so. The proposed rents for those units can be described as anything but "affordable", and the construction costs have ballooned to a fantastic expense that Tofino will never see recovered, construction costs more than double the sq ft rate that private developers construct new homes for!
Equally bogus is her claim that private developers cannot supply the market demand. They cannot supply the demand because the District of Tofino refuses to re-zone any land or approve any development permits. Of course developers cannot supply the demand, the District of Tofino refuses to allow it!
Then, she has the gall to claim, on the radio, that she's so proud of the fact that this has all been accomplished without the use of any district taxation money being required.
Don't be fooled. This isn't about housing, or affordability, or sustainability, or about providing for those on lower incomes. This is about politics. There's been close to two million dollars spent, and there's not a thing built yet. There's no such thing as "government funded". It ALL taxpayer funded!
I believe your comments are correct Ralph. 13 years. Which is really a disgrace when you consider how much people harp on the need for housing.
The interesting thing is, council is approving a far more objectionable proposal than they have turned down many times in the last decade. Because it is THEIR proposal. This proposal would be turned down if presented by a private developer. Can't trust the "OTHER". Those bad people. Only government can be trusted. Mr. Law apparently does not have the same sense of ownership, he has come late and brought a little objectivity. We will see how he develops.
But the Mayors comments are quite revealing. The reason nothing can get passed the gatekeepers is because they feel they would lose control. She doesn't want to be a custodian of the public interest, guiding reasonable development...She wants control and credit. She knows better than society itself. The attitude borders on Meglomania. The supply and demand system, where the market comes in to play has been short circuited and where has that got us. A worse position than ever.
History has proven this kind of government intervention has never worked. The government will solve your problems and then you are beholden to the government. How has that worked out for native people for the last 100 years in Canada or the Black population in the States. Welfare and slums. Perpetual dependence and poverty.
Government needs to create the conditions for success. The rule of law, economic freedom, the provision of broad infrastructural services and to help those who really need it, those who cannot help themselves, Then get out of the way and let the majority of people provide for themselves which they would be only to happy to do.
Hell, even the Chinese figured out some of this.. But someone at District Council holds the keys and doesn't want to share. They want control more than they want success. No, private development will never work says the Mayor who has absolutely no personal experience in development whatsoever and approved not one significant rezoning for residential development since coming into office. You don't want that. She knows. You want government housing Right??
Once the pigs got rid of the farmer, they started wearing the farmers clothes. They stood up on two legs and stared drinking the farmers wine. They told the other animals they needed to do what the pigs said, leave the running of the farm to them, because they, the pigs, were the smart ones and it was best to leave such important matters to them. Hello Tofino
And, the districts demands for money, like the lift tax, has killed any developers appetite for doing anything requiring a rezoning. The district has made it impossible for a responsible developer to do anything...period.
the alleged success of this project is sickening. they could screw up a one man parade. we'll educate the dogs and kids not to kill the salmon going by to spawn...sure. a very naive notion.
this seems like a pretty sweet deal for Catalyst. They kind of came out of nowhere into our local "affordable housing" objective. Who does Catalyst know that is connected to the district? I wonder. Meanwhile District staff are building vacation rentals in Gibson Heights. That will surely bolster community sustainability.....
Conversations I've heard include Catalyst, staff housing, and a couple of the larger resorts all having a vested interest in seeing Sharp Rd proceed. Of course that could easily just be rumor and conjecture. No corruption in Tofino, it's about"affordable", not"staff", right?
So why is the mayor now making it a point to distance herself from the term "low cost" and instead now prefer to use "below market"?
Is this the same women who has been fleecing the Tofino Taxpayer for years with this "Ecolodge" scam. Is this the woman who tells us to do the moral thing re the bus. Her position is all projection. She thinks the developers are all scammers when it is her, and the taxpayers are immoral. It's all projection.
Non profit instituionlly zoned ecolodge. Not for profit, pay no taxes, below market housing.
What or who is the commonality here?
this is hypothetical: Originally The 1/2 acre lot on Sharp Road given over to the district couldn't used for anything other than a fire hall by virtue of a reverter clause registered on title. The situation was a condition of the original subdivision of the bigger area around it.
So if the 1/2 lot wasnt going to be used for a fire hall and someone wanted to use it for something else the title would revert back to the original developer instead.
the OCP had the area designated educational institution in anticipation of the threatened blossoming of ecological education institutions flocking to tofino.
last century a developer tried and failed to get the OCP amended to allow him to build a 29 unit motel. the politicos were adamant the OCP must prevail.
until the original developers became part of the affordable housing committee along with some ucluelet people and the districts affordable housing consultant.
catalyst worked hard in the background to steer this thing in the direction of lots of public and private below market rent housing. seeing that catalyst is a byproduct of 3 large resorts in the area it doesn't take a genius to see whats happened. on our nickel.
if it looks like a piece of----, and it smells like a piece of ----. Hey maybe it is a piece of ----. Trust your instincts folks, this thing smells to high heavens.
hmmmm..... So most of the larger resorts didn't pay the proper water bills for quite a few years because of an alleged clerical error/oversight.. Maybe $1 million worth. we pay more they pay less... Let's move on.
4 larger resorts are now getting public and private staff housing accommodations built close to their respective resorts orchestrated by the district under the rubric of "affordable housing". Some of it unwittingly paid for by the taxpayers here. the consultant was paid by us for doing this....lets go..wheelbarrows more important..nothing to see here folks..move on.
And whatever money that should have been paid by the Ecolodge if they were properly zoned and taxed was also made up for by you and me.
We are being made fools of by paying for these things. Especially when it's presented as its in the publics best interest to not know how these things happen.
Let's hope the ratepayers association bring us some scrutiny to the matters of taxation as we move forward.
Aren’t there some Tiny Homes available ? They should be affordable.
Corruption starts small and relatively innocently enough...gosh golly I didn’t know what this would led to?
Our local media ,westerly and CBC ,would never actually cover this type of dishonest conduct.
Fake news and to cover true intentions.. it happened with “watergate” no one held to account for DOT failures.
Business DOT style. Look at Gibson Heights hmmmm? Have you every seen any project in Tofino move so quickly that is zoned for nightly rental?
Submission of OPPOSE forms closed at 4:00PM yesterday. At 4:01PM, they knew how many they had received. Office was open until 4:30PM.
Yet, no word on the result.....
hmmmmmmmmm
There has always been someone who could hoodwink Council, this time it is Catalyst. No problem, the taxpayers will once again pick up the slack.
12:04 you have your wires crossed on gibson heights. for the record the property is zoned R-1 with a minimum lot size permitted of 7200 sq. ft. and had been zoned R-1 for many years. R-1 zoning allows nightly rentals.
Post a Comment