Why allow any development at all?
Multi-family developments increase density, promoting improved energy use
Why Should our Community Grow?
Some people on the North Shore believe in “no new development.” We should stop people from coming to the North Shore—it's perfect the way it is.
I do think the North Shore is awesome. What I don't want to see is it ossify. I don't want it to become a community full of people who can't obtain the services they need and want at an affordable price and quality level. I want to live in a place that young folk move into to raise families, add vibrancy, invest in businesses and activities that make the community alive and continue to make our community better and better.
Selfishly, I want my son to be able to live in this community in the future when he is in his 20s and 30s. I don't expect that to be possible on the path we are on right now on the North Shore.
Pulling up the drawbridge and keeping people out shoots us in the foot. Here are a few ways that is the case:
Traffic: Since many people can't afford to live here, some workers will have to travel daily to work in shops, restaurants, hospitals, health care offices, schools, home improvement work, etc. Many will drive in our current car-dependent development pattern—a significant contributor to our legendary traffic snarl-ups.
Grandkids: As I mentioned, our kids will likely not be able to afford to live here when they have kids. This means we will have to travel to see them or move away to live near them. I’d rather they had the option to continue to live here. At current housing costs, that’s unlikely to be an option here.
Stagnation: Do you want to live in a community of only the rich? I don't. Having a diversity of ages and people of all types adds to and creates a community. Sure, some of them may be annoying, or you won't want to spend time with them. That's part of being human: learn to find joy in them. My values include equal opportunity for all, and sharing space with people of all types and stripes.
Solutions:
I'm not talking about building more single-family homes. I'm talking about reducing the excess of zoning laws that only allow building single-family homes in 80% of the DNV and DWV. More sprawl is not the answer. With single-family homes (SFH = Houses) across the Northshore costing $1.5 to $2 million plus, this will not work for the healthy turnover our community needs.
The only option for making homes more affordable on the North Shore is to increase density. This means making multi-family units easier to build and doing a better job of building them—this means three-bedroom units and more. This means removing parking minimums that require two cars per unit, increasing the cost of each unit by $50,000 per parking spot. It also means units with better bike parking.
In summary, creating homes for people aligns with my values and my self-interest. I hope it aligns with your values too.
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Multi family homes come in many shapes and sizes. Six floors and a corner store is my favourite kind of 21st century housing.