Editor:
I read your article in the July 11 edition of the Optimist, titled Housing At A Crossroads, and commend you on doing such a good job in accurately explaining the current situation in Delta.
You are also correct in writing that municipalities like Delta have run out of room to build affordable housing. My wife and I moved to Tsawwassen last year from Richmond, which was a great decision for us, as we love it here.
When I still lived in Richmond, I wrote to the provincial government in 2017 in regards to what I thought might be a possibility of providing more affordable housing to both young families and seniors who cannot afford owning a single-detached home. This involved utilizing ALR land, yet keeping it as agricultural or hobby farms, while also providing reasonably priced housing.
In an article written by reporter Sandor Gyarmati back in February, he mentions that only 59 per cent of ALR land is being used in Delta for agricultural/hobby purposes.
Between Delta and Richmond, I calculate that there is a potential to develop approximately 53,000 new properties of quarter acre in size, which would also include agricultural use as explained in my letter to the province. This might be a lot better alternative to selling off ALR land to foreign buyers who build mega mansions without any agricultural usage.
Trudy Rotgans of the Housing Policy Branch in late December 2017, replied to my letter. She appreciated my idea and mentions that government is considering a number of options to develop more affordable housing. However as your article states, most of the newer housing projects involve condos and townhouses that are still very much unaffordable to most young people and seniors.
You have also indicated that many new families would like to have a detached home of their own if at all possible, and I believe the numbers I’ve identified in my letter of between $275,000 and $400,000 would fit this vision. In turn, it could provide locally-produced agricultural products to the various municipalities, by requiring purchasers to utilize at least half of the property for this use, whether achieving this goal personally or with outside help.
I would be interested to hear from other readers what they thought of this idea.
Robert Lewis
