Editor:
So, Sechelt is the fourth most unaffordable community in Canada, driven by a shortage of low-cost rental accommodation. Not a surprise – no one has repealed the law of supply and demand. And demand continues to grow – Sechelt is a great place to live, raise a family and retire.
Our problem is supply. Some would like to blame interest rates, short-term rentals, second homes and spillover from Vancouver but those are marginal factors. Our problem is quite simple – we aren’t building enough housing of all types to meet the demand. Those with lower incomes – the young and the old – get squeezed out.
Building in Sechelt is a Herculean task. It takes years for even the most straightforward of developments to get approved. Bureaucracy and a begrudging, unpredictable political environment await those who dare try. Recently, council and staff negotiated a reduction in a 48-residence proposal to 31 units. Then, at the last minute and on an ad hoc basis, council further downsized the development to 20 units – against the recommendation of their own professional planning staff. The result? Fewer, higher priced condominiums and no affordable housing units or other community amenities for Sechelt.
Council dismissed out of hand a proposal that had 250 units of affordable housing at the leading edge of a major development. And several plans for seniors housing languish on the shelf. Council begrudgingly approved one small townhouse development recently, at least in part because they feared being sued. Sechelt has a reputation as “the place where development goes to die” – thanks to our mayor and council.
We need to expand affordable housing, particularly for seniors and for the young families providing the all-important workforce essential for our continued economic well-being. That won’t happen with our current political leadership.
Keith Maxwell, Sechelt
