BarrieToday welcomes letters to the editor at [email protected] or via the website. Please include your full name, daytime phone number and address (for verification of authorship, not publication). The following letter is in reference to 'COLUMN: Beef with how Barrie is growing? Time to speak up,' published Oct. 16.
I do not support the changes to the Barrie zoning bylaws as they stand now, since they prevent me from protesting or preventing multi-storey structures being built in my already established neighbourhood, as already outlined in a BarrieToday article on Oct. 16 by "a couple of local planners."
Robert Lehman said he hasn’t found anything like it in any other municipality in Ontario. He pointed out that would include about 40,000 properties and almost every residential street in the city.
In the city’s pamphlet, titled “Barrie’s New Zoning Bylaw – What It Means to You,” they state “…the city wants to ensure we have a document that is user-friendly for the resident and the development community.”
That "easy-to-navigate" document is 220-plus pages, not including the appendices, maps and diagrams. This document is not intended for a resident, but for a land developer.
I would expect something like: “If you have been previously zoned as residential and you’re now classified as NL1, there are no changes to the current bylaws in force. For further reading, please see sections so-and-so.”
I attended the online session held Sept. 19, and sent in a series of questions and concerns that remain unaddressed.
1. Can you elaborate on “affordable housing?” It’s a term used rather loosely, these days. Is it actually “affordable” purchase for homeowners, or home renters, and you used it excessively through your presentation?
During the presentation, you stated "that’s not part of the bylaws," however you used the term excessively through the presentation, identifying areas that were to be "affordable." I’m sympathetic to folks trying to buy a home, but that’s the point. They need to buy a home. Not rent, and as long as speculators and land developers are involved, as evidenced by many of the people in attendance that afternoon, young families don’t stand a chance. Rent serves no one, especially Barrie. Buyers take pride. Renters do not.
2. As a resident of NL1, I’m concerned that my neighbourhood will be purchased by speculators and landlords, turning the neighbourhood into a rental neighbourhood. Can you ensure me that this will not be the case?
3. If you plan on limiting rentals in an established neighbourhood, such as mine, how will this be enacted and enforced? If it’s not part of the bylaw, it needs to be, for the sake of the current residents. A granny flat, sure. A mid-rise or row townhouse in a single-detached dwelling neighbourhood, I disagree with that most adamantly, and I see nothing to prevent it in the current bylaws. In fact, it seems to promote it.
4. The bylaws need to protect existing neighbourhoods as well as future developments. Barrie, you have an opportunity to build a better Barrie. Don’t let it slip through your fingers. Don’t get tricked by the Doug Ford “build fast, build quick, ignore the rules” policy. That’s what almost happened to his/our Greenbelt.
Finally, if you’re serious about reducing the cost of housing, here are some suggestions:
1. Cap real estate fees at $5,000 per sale. Using a percentage based on sale price is an outdated model and an incentive to increase the price of the house.
2. Eliminate the HST on housing sales. Remember back to the good old days when Prime Minister Brian Mulroney introduced the HST. He stated that HST on big-ticket items would be eliminated. Well, eliminate it.
3. Prevent flipping. Ownership of a house needs to be upped to five years, minimum. Anything less is automatically subject to capital gains tax.
4. Eliminate speculation and developers buying into already developed neighbourhoods. They have no business in these areas and only want to tear down and build rental units making these neighbourhoods less desirable to live in at the same time as decreasing surrounding housing values.
5. Make it mandatory that contractors are licensed and prevent gouging. Establish a list of acceptable costs. I know this is viable because I worked on a construction show where I did just that.
Barrie residents, homeowners and owner wannabes, make your voice heard on this matter. Your rights are being eroded.
You may attend in-person at city hall on Thursday, Nov. 14 at 6 p.m. View online, send an email, send snail mail ... have your opinion heard verbally either virtually or in-person. All information may be found here, but you must register.
Do not let this slide. It’s far too important to leave in the hands of politicians as we’ve witnessed time and time again.
Seaghan Hancocks
Barrie
