Dorothy Baert – Supports vacation rentals and is glad that Council dealt with the issue and made them legal. She spoke to the OCP process and stated that that is where her support lies.
10 years of lost business license fees, 10 years of lost commercial property taxes, 10 years of lost amenities contributions........ instead, we've had 10 years of having Tofino socially devastated by those 20 short term rentals operating at South Chestermans (only half the units do short term rentals). Do this mental exercise: Take those 20 units, suppose that they're all rented long term, to someone, and calculate how much that would do toward solving Tofino's housing shortage. The answer, of course, is: NOT EVEN CLOSE. The problem isn't South Chesterman Beach Homes. The problem is The Office of Community Sustainability and Tofino Council chambers. BUILD SOME FUCKING HOUSING. STOP THIS STUPID "WAR ON TOURISM"!
A previous council did allow some housing to be built. So that it remained long term , a covenant was placed on it preventing owners from renting short term. It's called South Chesterman . What part of this don't you understand ? The "war on tourism " is in your head. The "war on community" is very real.
This council, and ones previous, will not enforce bylaws that matter, will not approve commercial tourist accommodation, will not approve housing development. Nothing of substance is accomplished. Nothing accomplished on roads, water, sewer, housing. Fundamentals of municipal operation.
They will drive up costs on everything, raising taxes, fees, salaries, and staffing levels and their favourite forms of expression, consultants and the latest lux directional signage gimicry. The streets are awash in a complex of parking signs, so ugly. Off shore users are guaranteed parking places on our streets, while the tax paying public is told to pay up and suck it up.
What is wrong with this picture. Just about everything.
I am trying to think of one substantial success. Please help me. I am trying to be fair.... I am reminded of a councillor a few years ago, when questioned on the accomplishments of their three year term, shuffled about and then proudly offered that, "We stopped some things".
yes, they stopped the kennedy lake water project. way to go. they stopped the affordable/attainable housing initiative on dl114 for 10 years or so. really smart. i do hope they stop the tumbler ridge west project proposed behind the coop gasbar tho....its some ugly. and stop dumping raw poop into the ocean.
One thing they have not stopped is the fantasy that Tofino is some kind of perfection and that nothing should change. They feast on it. It sustains them. They try to make it cute. They fetishize it. Wise man say only constant is change. Change is happening all the time, but their primary concern is only to protect the past. We need to honour the past, but as we move forward. If the town is not controlling the future it will control us.
The first benefit of a good plan of action is that it makes sense of the present.
We see daily there is no plan, there is no vision and there is no sense of where we are at. Decisions are disjointed and contradictory and things go round and round. Where she stops nobody knows.
Ten years of pure profit while paying residential taxes .Ten more years please Suckers !!
ReplyDeleteDorothy Baert – Supports vacation rentals and is glad that Council dealt with the issue and made them legal. She spoke to the OCP process and stated that that is where her support lies.
ReplyDelete10 years of lost business license fees, 10 years of lost commercial property taxes, 10 years of lost amenities contributions........ instead, we've had 10 years of having Tofino socially devastated by those 20 short term rentals operating at South Chestermans (only half the units do short term rentals). Do this mental exercise: Take those 20 units, suppose that they're all rented long term, to someone, and calculate how much that would do toward solving Tofino's housing shortage. The answer, of course, is: NOT EVEN CLOSE. The problem isn't South Chesterman Beach Homes. The problem is The Office of Community Sustainability and Tofino Council chambers. BUILD SOME FUCKING HOUSING. STOP THIS STUPID "WAR ON TOURISM"!
ReplyDeleteA previous council did allow some housing to be built. So that it remained long term , a covenant was placed on it preventing owners from renting short term. It's called South Chesterman . What part of this don't you understand ? The "war on tourism " is in your head. The "war on community" is very real.
ReplyDeleteThis council, and ones previous, will not enforce bylaws that matter, will not approve commercial tourist accommodation, will not approve housing development. Nothing of substance is accomplished. Nothing accomplished on roads, water, sewer, housing. Fundamentals of municipal operation.
ReplyDeleteThey will drive up costs on everything, raising taxes, fees, salaries, and staffing levels and their favourite forms of expression, consultants and the latest lux directional signage gimicry. The streets are awash in a complex of parking signs, so ugly. Off shore users are guaranteed parking places on our streets, while the tax paying public is told to pay up and suck it up.
What is wrong with this picture. Just about everything.
I am trying to think of one substantial success. Please help me. I am trying to be fair.... I am reminded of a councillor a few years ago, when questioned on the accomplishments of their three year term, shuffled about and then proudly offered that, "We stopped some things".
Hooray!!!!
We got the Weeper !!
ReplyDeleteyes, they stopped the kennedy lake water project. way to go.
ReplyDeletethey stopped the affordable/attainable housing initiative on dl114 for 10 years or so. really smart.
i do hope they stop the tumbler ridge west project proposed behind the coop gasbar tho....its some ugly.
and stop dumping raw poop into the ocean.
One thing they have not stopped is the fantasy that Tofino is some kind of perfection and that nothing should change. They feast on it. It sustains them. They try to make it cute. They fetishize it. Wise man say only constant is change. Change is happening all the time, but their primary concern is only to protect the past. We need to honour the past, but as we move forward. If the town is not controlling the future it will control us.
ReplyDeleteThe first benefit of a good plan of action is that it makes sense of the present.
We see daily there is no plan, there is no vision and there is no sense of where we are at. Decisions are disjointed and contradictory and things go round and round.
Where she stops nobody knows.