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Letters: City council blind to Richmond residents’ housing needs

A Richmond News reader feels the city council has been asleep at the wheel when it comes to affordable housing
Richmond condos

Dear Editor,

With the exception of a few, our current city council appears to be turning a blind eye to the housing crisis in Richmond. 

Or even worse, they are aware of it and choose to ignore it in favour of catering to large developers.

Richmond’s record of rental units vs condos is appalling. CMHC stats show that we are almost dead last in comparison to other municipalities.

Condo developers continue to reap huge profits while tens of thousands of Richmond residents struggle to find proper housing.

The City cites their LEMR program as their solution to this problem but these units have not been accessible to the general public – if they are built and offered at all.

The City gives numbers of LEMR units “secured” but is less clear on how many have been built. Their own reports show the need for several thousand rentals, LEMR units may have supplied a few hundred.  Requests have been made for some kind of central registry and for the City to oversee the process but this has never been truly addressed. 

Our green spaces and farmland are disappearing while parts of Richmond now are concrete and full of towers. 

Looking at all the construction going on it’s hard to believe we are still in this housing crisis.  

Realizing that our council is approving almost 90 per cent condos over rentals, it becomes easier to believe.

Richmond is losing its identity and longtime residents are finding it impossible to find housing they can afford.

In an election year it amazes me that most of the current council seem so complacent that they ignore the documented needs in our community.

Donna Colpits

RICHMOND