A Richmond Information reader thinks that elected officers and builders are creating the incorrect type of housing.
Pricey Editor,
I really don’t have to tell you, my mates, that we are encountering a dire housing scarcity in Richmond.
The excellent information is that our elected officials and builders are earning a concerted effort and hard work to make a lot more housing the negative information is it’s the erroneous variety.
The new housing projects underway will not enable our younger grown ups and center-income staff fleeing our community looking for inexpensive housing and will only gain the privileged elite. Is any individual shocked?
Instead than investing in fairly priced housing that daily individuals can find the money for, we are witnessing the design of luxurious townhouses and substantial-priced condominiums, some of which result in the destruction of one-household dwellings to get hold of the land.
The negligible sum of cost-effective housing below design is insufficient for Richmond’s 200K population — 26 for each cent of whom are renters in a location with a <1 per cent vacancy rate.
We desperately need a two-pronged approach to fix this systemic issue.
Our young adults are forced to relocate, leaving behind their entire community and support system, making families more vulnerable.
Prong one is to re-design single-family homes to create two or three smaller homes on the same plot that our much-valued teachers, tradespersons, healthcare and childcare workers, and young professionals can afford.
Prong two involves city council fundamentally changing zoning laws to create more purpose-built rental housing that families and middle-income residents, who make less than $70,000 annually, can afford.
Jack Trovato
RICHMOND
