Dear Editor:
Regarding your Feb 13 story, City Seeks Advice on Density Bonusing:
I am frustrated by the intractable conflicts on City of North Vancouver council. I cannot think why any responsible councillor would support cash contributions from developers in lieu of community amenities, particularly below-market units. Anyone who follows Vancouver housing knows why their city government now prefers built units over cash. The value of the units always exceeds the cash offerings, without even counting the time lag before cash is translated into living space for those in need.
Anyone who follows population health issues knows that mixed populations are healthier than the select demographics which emerge from elitist developments.
I agree, of course, that senior governments should take responsibility for housing supply, as they do in every other developed country, and as they did in Canada from the end of the Second World War until 1993. However, since the federal government has limited its response to the extreme low end of the housing continuum, since our provincial government has followed suit, and since our municipal government is the one most in touch with the broad swathe of "at risk of homelessness" populations whom the market has failed for 20 years now, why would responsible councillors go for a "cash grab"?
Donna J. Stewart, North Vancouver
