Fuck Woodsmere! Let's just raise everyone's taxes and give away the public lands to some shady individuals operating under the disguise of "affordable housing" instead. After decades of obstruction, it would not be proper for council to finally approve the construction of residential housing, at this late stage of the game. Apartment buildings? Houses? Absolutely not!! Living in a truck box at a campground, while working two jobs to pay for it, that's the conditions that mayor and council was elected to preserve, and they're doing a heck of a fine job of it! Great society we got here in Tofino. Young women offering to prostitute themselves, just to try to find a place to rent! Yes! Really! This is the disgusting state of affairs we have, while the priority seems to be "affordable housing" for ?? whoever?? I see the disgusting hollow words offered in council chambers. It makes me want to puke. None of the "oh so fucking wise" voices heard there are living in a tent tonight. Nothing has been done about housing in Tofino in decades. The current bunch ain't gonna do nothing either. Except maintain the status quo, and property values for themselves and their friends.
There's 6-8 really loud and noticeable welfare bums screaming for the rest of society to provide them with a cheap or free place to live (so they can continue with their substance abuse lifestyle), and there's 120-150 working people looking for a place to buy or rent. But the places for the 120-150 will never be built, because of the insane political decision to suspend the entire project. Those 6-8. They don't work. They don't contribute. They don't need to get up for work tomorrow, they can party all night. No one wants em for neighbors. Yet council (and it appears that staff makes these political decisions also) demand that the developer provide housing for these individuals that no one wants in the community anyhow.
Probably shouldn't proceed with this housing project until Tofino has a safe injection site and detox facility to serve the incoming population that council is gearing up to serve.
it needs to be pointed out that there is no extra water here. none. none for a massive development. we haven't hit the bottom of the water supply quite yet but its coming..... And when it does our council members will be unpleasantly surprised for not having seen it coming.
There's lots of water. It falls here as rain as runs away into the ocean. Lots of it. Just need to fill some buckets...or maybe a couple multi-million gallon resevoir tanks, to have on hand for emergencies and that two month gap in the rain supply that happens every summer.
I am supposing that councilors who have occupied their seats for near their full term, (a few for most of their lives) all came in thinking they would do something about housing. There were lots of "applications in the pipe" one told me. Well here we are, near four years later and nothing, yes nothing has been rezoned that would even make a dent in the need for housing. Except the much beloved "affordable housing" project. The folks who have tried to get into the Sharp Road project will question what "affordable" can possibly mean with the highest rates in town on offer. But that is by a protected class of developer
The planning functions and authority of municipal governments, were originally established to serve a regulatory and management purpose. What size of pipe needs to go into the ground so we don't have to dig it up and replace it tomorrow. We don't need a 4 lane road if it only accesses a six lot cul-de-sac. Planning and good order. For some time now, municipalities want to leverage their regulatory function of approval into negotiating extras. Call it looking out for the social good or call it extortion. Some municipalities seem to function well in that environment. Tofino not so good. In fact an unmitigated disaster. 15 years since any significant zoning approvals for housing 15 years of councils attempts at extortion. We have just about used up every available lot in the community. Those legacy lots the result of "terrible"(say some) decision making by councils past, who just approved what was reasonable.
Communities who are succesful at the new game of negotiation realize you have to give something to get something. The developer, wanting a modest commercial use of some small highway frontage......no no no. The developer could have asked to build luxury homes on half acre lots to sell to rich people from away, no no no. They instead offered to build an apartment. No one, anywhere else builds apartments anymore. They build condos. Look what Tofino has to do to get an apartment built through "Afforable Housing" Town has spent millions. This developer gets no credit for his proposal. no no no. In fact his development will generate millions for the town. Full fees and taxes
Long story short. Every thing in the Woodsmere proposal is suitable and good for the town, and is all small margin stuff. They get no gravy and Mayor Dan is outraged. Apparently there are lots of developers who are willing to offer Mayor Dan the moon. Where the hell are they?. What projects? 15 years of nothing. Mayor Dan needs to take a back seat and settle down. He is way over his skis and being pig headed. This is not the kind of leadership most Tofitians want. Town is being run by ideologues, Not people with experience
Councilors VOTE FOR THIS PROPASAL. It ain't perfect.... but it is good, and the good beats nothing, every time.
So Woodsmere is going to build all this housing and from then on, providing that all of the affordable rental housing is occupied, every person living in a travel trailer, motorhome, or camper van will automatically jump into the woodmen offerings. That might happen and then what happens to the two motorhome spots, the 10 or 15 camper van spots, the travel trailer places behind peoples houses or in their yards? There are lots and lots of those. Well nothings going to happen. Those spots will stay there and be rented out to the next bunch of low income people who don't have a place to stay. There's no function that says if there's available housing the substandard housing in peoples backyards he's got to go. It serves a purpose right now but once it is not needed it should be taken out of the mix. But it won't be. No one pays any attention because either they have one in their own backyard or their friends have a couple in their backyard. they are all making money. One reason I bring this up is that there's a lot of water consumed on what should be single-family dwelling properties. in Richmond a single family home that wants a suite must pay 1/2 of a DCC to take into account the extra use of municipal services. just saying.......
Ghetto campgrounds use lots of water but get temporary use permits without dccs being paid. Some single family homes have 3 and 4 illegal campers. Crab dock is a cesspool. I actually saw a leashed dog today.
Council has had water supply as a priority for ten years. Budgeted work to improve the storage on Meares Island has been made to disappear. Don't want to upset the Tribal Parks folks.
I guess it is easier to just try and squeeze out a couple more years and ignore the realities.
5:22 Well your kinda getting into a situation there where somebody would have to do their job. What you don't realize is there are costs and benefits to bylaws and then there are the real BYLAWS. The bylaws being the laws we don't enforce and the BYLAWS being the ones we have sworn a sacred oath to enforce to protect the safety and quality of the community. Which is a very high standard you see. we get a kinda uniform that we wear to inform you that we can and maybe will enforce the Bylaws when it suites us, till it doesn't if we get round to it after we have consulted ourselves and kinda rewritten the understanding of the law which was likely unenforceable anyway. So what is your point. These are really laws which are not meant to be laws till we decide so. Later. Particularly if it's someone we don't like. So what's it going to be boy. What is your beef. Do I make myself clear.
oh by the way...... In considering the water situation I forgot to mention that tin-wis is putting in a fairly large campground and will be gobbling up approximately 100 gallons per campsite per day. maybe 100 campsites going in there. Further down the beach across the street from Ocean Village is going to be a new resort hotel of approximately 80 rooms each of which are responsible for consuming 200 gallons per day. just starting construction....
Maybe someone has decided the only way to get something done on water is to wait for an emergency. A good shut down will get everyone's attention. Like last time, it spurred a little action and got past the politics. Shame if that is what is happening.
Fuck Woodsmere! Let's just raise everyone's taxes and give away the public lands to some shady individuals operating under the disguise of "affordable housing" instead.
ReplyDeleteAfter decades of obstruction, it would not be proper for council to finally approve the construction of residential housing, at this late stage of the game.
Apartment buildings? Houses? Absolutely not!! Living in a truck box at a campground, while working two jobs to pay for it, that's the conditions that mayor and council was elected to preserve, and they're doing a heck of a fine job of it! Great society we got here in Tofino. Young women offering to prostitute themselves, just to try to find a place to rent! Yes! Really!
This is the disgusting state of affairs we have, while the priority seems to be "affordable housing" for ?? whoever?? I see the disgusting hollow words offered in council chambers. It makes me want to puke. None of the "oh so fucking wise" voices heard there are living in a tent tonight.
Nothing has been done about housing in Tofino in decades. The current bunch ain't gonna do nothing either. Except maintain the status quo, and property values for themselves and their friends.
There's 6-8 really loud and noticeable welfare bums screaming for the rest of society to provide them with a cheap or free place to live (so they can continue with their substance abuse lifestyle), and there's 120-150 working people looking for a place to buy or rent.
ReplyDeleteBut the places for the 120-150 will never be built, because of the insane political decision to suspend the entire project.
Those 6-8. They don't work. They don't contribute. They don't need to get up for work tomorrow, they can party all night. No one wants em for neighbors. Yet council (and it appears that staff makes these political decisions also) demand that the developer provide housing for these individuals that no one wants in the community anyhow.
Probably shouldn't proceed with this housing project until Tofino has a safe injection site and detox facility to serve the incoming population that council is gearing up to serve.
There's nothing in this about housing for transgender individuals. That should delay things by another six weeks, at least, while staff studies this.
ReplyDeleteit needs to be pointed out that there is no extra water here. none. none for a massive development.
ReplyDeletewe haven't hit the bottom of the water supply quite yet but its coming..... And when it does our council members will be unpleasantly surprised for not having seen it coming.
There's lots of water. It falls here as rain as runs away into the ocean. Lots of it. Just need to fill some buckets...or maybe a couple multi-million gallon resevoir tanks, to have on hand for emergencies and that two month gap in the rain supply that happens every summer.
ReplyDeleteI am supposing that councilors who have occupied their seats for near their full term, (a few for most of their lives) all came in thinking they would do something about housing. There were lots of "applications in the pipe" one told me. Well here we are, near four years later and nothing, yes nothing has been rezoned that would even make a dent in the need for housing. Except the much beloved "affordable housing" project. The folks who have tried to get into the Sharp Road project will question what "affordable" can possibly mean with the highest rates in town on offer. But that is by a protected class of developer
ReplyDeleteThe planning functions and authority of municipal governments, were originally established to serve a regulatory and management purpose. What size of pipe needs to go into the ground so we don't have to dig it up and replace it tomorrow. We don't need a 4 lane road if it only accesses a six lot cul-de-sac. Planning and good order. For some time now, municipalities want to leverage their regulatory function of approval into negotiating extras. Call it looking out for the social good or call it extortion. Some municipalities seem to function well in that environment. Tofino not so good. In fact an unmitigated disaster. 15 years since any significant zoning approvals for housing 15 years of councils attempts at extortion. We have just about used up every available lot in the community. Those legacy lots the result of "terrible"(say some) decision making by councils past, who just approved what was reasonable.
Communities who are succesful at the new game of negotiation realize you have to give something to get something. The developer, wanting a modest commercial use of some small highway frontage......no no no. The developer could have asked to build luxury homes on half acre lots to sell to rich people from away, no no no. They instead offered to build an apartment. No one, anywhere else builds apartments anymore. They build condos. Look what Tofino has to do to get an apartment built through "Afforable Housing" Town has spent millions. This developer gets no credit for his proposal. no no no. In fact his development will generate millions for the town. Full fees and taxes
Long story short. Every thing in the Woodsmere proposal is suitable and good for the town, and is all small margin stuff. They get no gravy and Mayor Dan is outraged. Apparently there are lots of developers who are willing to offer Mayor Dan the moon. Where the hell are they?. What projects? 15 years of nothing. Mayor Dan needs to take a back seat and settle down. He is way over his skis and being pig headed. This is not the kind of leadership most Tofitians want. Town is being run by ideologues, Not people with experience
Councilors VOTE FOR THIS PROPASAL. It ain't perfect.... but it is good, and the good beats nothing, every time.
Where will the water come from ? System is maxxed out with new affordable housing debacles .
ReplyDeleteSo Woodsmere is going to build all this housing and from then on, providing that all of the affordable rental housing is occupied, every person living in a travel trailer, motorhome, or camper van will automatically jump into the woodmen offerings. That might happen and then what happens to the two motorhome spots, the 10 or 15 camper van spots, the travel trailer places behind peoples houses or in their yards? There are lots and lots of those. Well nothings going to happen. Those spots will stay there and be rented out to the next bunch of low income people who don't have a place to stay.
ReplyDeleteThere's no function that says if there's available housing the substandard housing in peoples backyards he's got to go. It serves a purpose right now but once it is not needed it should be taken out of the mix. But it won't be. No one pays any attention because either they have one in their own backyard or their friends have a couple in their backyard. they are all making money.
One reason I bring this up is that there's a lot of water consumed on what should be single-family dwelling properties.
in Richmond a single family home that wants a suite must pay 1/2 of a DCC to take into account the extra use of municipal services.
just saying.......
Ghetto campgrounds use lots of water but get temporary use permits without dccs being paid. Some single family homes have 3 and 4 illegal campers. Crab dock is a cesspool. I actually saw a leashed dog today.
ReplyDeleteCouncil has had water supply as a priority for ten years. Budgeted work to improve the storage on Meares Island has been made to disappear. Don't want to upset the Tribal Parks folks.
ReplyDeleteI guess it is easier to just try and squeeze out a couple more years and ignore the realities.
5:22 Well your kinda getting into a situation there where somebody would have to do their job. What you don't realize is there are costs and benefits to bylaws and then there are the real BYLAWS. The bylaws being the laws we don't enforce and the BYLAWS being the ones we have sworn a sacred oath to enforce to protect the safety and quality of the community. Which is a very high standard you see. we get a kinda uniform that we wear to inform you that we can and maybe will enforce the Bylaws when it suites us, till it doesn't if we get round to it after we have consulted ourselves and kinda rewritten the understanding of the law which was likely unenforceable anyway. So what is your point. These are really laws which are not meant to be laws till we decide so. Later.
ReplyDeleteParticularly if it's someone we don't like. So what's it going to be boy. What is your beef. Do I make myself clear.
oh by the way...... In considering the water situation I forgot to mention that tin-wis is putting in a fairly large campground and will be gobbling up approximately 100 gallons per campsite per day. maybe 100 campsites going in there.
ReplyDeleteFurther down the beach across the street from Ocean Village is going to be a new resort hotel of approximately 80 rooms each of which are responsible for consuming 200 gallons per day. just starting construction....
Maybe someone has decided the only way to get something done on water is to wait for an emergency. A good shut down will get everyone's attention. Like last time, it spurred a little action and got past the politics. Shame if that is what is happening.
ReplyDelete