Dear Editor,
Re: “Westwind neighbourhood is falling,” Letters, March 15.
I congratulate Mr. Tarnow for submitting his letter to the newspaper, and recognise the pain he is feeling right now with the construction of a three-level house adjacent to his family home.
Of course, the construction of said home is all legal and above board, and approved by our friends at the city, under the old LUC bylaw.
The first thing I would ask Mr. Tarnow is, was he involved in the discussion late last year with the city when they proposed the removal of the LUC bylaws? Did he make any submissions to the city of the proposal?
The reason I ask is because people in Westwind — who did not get involved with the discussion of LUC — are now recognising that not only was the LUC bylaw terminated, but in doing so, the city also devalued their homes.
I recently submitted a letter to the city to reconsider the termination of the LUC bylaw, and reinstate it for the 4,000 plus homes that were affected by the termination. Not only do we have mega monsters being built beside us (some over 6,000 square-feet), but of course we cannot build anything close to the sizes now being built.
Who in their right mind would purchase an old style home with a three story house constructed next to it, which is unsightly and removes privacy and light.
I had suggested at the time when the LUC regulation was being discussed, before termination, that council just leave the ruling as is. Over time, people would move out, new homes would be built, and they would in all probability be built in the same style, height and size as what is being constructed right now in Westwind.
My logic for this reasoning is simple. I was previously a resident of Broadmoor and lived there when the first monster homes were built. The neighbourhood was up in arms then, because of the same issues that we are meeting today.
However, fast forward 15/20 years and all the homes in this area now look just fine. They all look the same size, they don’t tower over their neighbours, and that’s because there are very few originals (built around 1950s) left.
The city, in November, decided to listen to the noisy, overbearing minority led by a very hypocritical realtor and successfully had the LUC bylaw terminated.
I am eternally hopeful that the city might do what’s right and reinstate the LUC bylaws to the 4,000 plus folks. However, it looks like we are stuck with our lot (excuse the pun).
David Currie
Richmond
