Pacific Safety Products closes plant

[CRCP]

Members' posts follow:

[John Zeger]

The closure of the Pacific Safety Products plant is an indictment of the failed policies and lack of vision of Kelowna city council. On Feb. 22 Pacific Safety Products announced that it will be closing its manufacturing plant in Kelowna putting 95 people out of work. A representative of the company said the plant closure is due to not being able to retain workers due to the high cost of living in the city, primarily the cost of housing.

For years now Kelowna city council has been aware of the growing problem of a lack of affordable housing in the city and has failed to take decisive action. Instead of making the creation of affordable housing a requirement of all housing approvals, council has offered piddling grants and other incentives to developers such as density bonusing. These short-sighted, band-aid policies were doomed to fail from the start and now city council and staff are finally acknowledging that they have not been effective.

What is needed is an inclusionary housing bylaw whereby developers are required to provide a fixed percentage of all new housing units as affordable housing. For years now most of the new housing in the city has been out of the financial reach of the average worker and much of it has been in the form luxury condominiums for wealthy retirees. Yet Kelowna city council with its typical lack of vision has approved all of these projects seemingly oblivious to the fact that there were an insufficient number of affordable units produced. In the meantime other cities in North America have enacted successful inclusionary housing bylaws such as Langford, B.C. where developers of all single family subdivisions are required to provide ten percent of units as family-oriented small lot homes priced no greater than $150,000.

It is time that Kelowna city council stop dithering on the subject of making affordable housing a requirement of developers out of fear that such a measure would offend the development community which has contributed to the campaigns of many sitting city councillors. Our city council should put the needs of the community before the profits of their developer friends.

[John Zeger]

I want to briefly comment on Graeme James' letter to the editor ("Unfair to place onus on builders," Daily Courier, March 7) where he responds to my letter posted above. In his letter Graeme says "it is unfair to blame the developers working in this town for the lack of affordable housing."

Graeme, please re-read my letter. I didn't blame developers but rather Kelowna city council. However, developers have not been part of the solution either as most are motivated by profits alone. As they have not voluntarily or co-operatively contributed an adequate number of affordable housing units, the only solution in to require this of them.

Graeme also says that "This would lead to higher costs for every other home not designated affordable housing to offset the cost of providing homes at below market value." You are quite correct here. Those newcomers who can afford $500,000 for a new home will likely have not have a problem paying an additional $50,000. This will make it possible for some workers in the city who cannot afford a $200,000 home to buy one for $150,000. It's all about building community and we won't have much of a community if middle and lower income earners cannot afford to live here because of the high cost of housing.