Dear Editor,
Re: “Housing report highlights dire needs in Richmond,” Online, Dec. 10
The debate surrounding the issue of housing in Richmond is first and foremost defined by a distinct absence of consensus.
Richmond city staff appear to admit to the prominent gap in how the average Richmond resident can access affordable housing.
This gap is accurately captured by referencing over 95 per cent of city residents who currently cannot afford present-day house prices.
However, others such as Coun. Bill McNulty feel the city deserves greater credit for what they consider positive changes to the housing situation in Richmond.
The diverse opinions on the housing issue in Richmond only serve to conceal the real problem, which is the deliberate construction of housing units that the average Richmond resident cannot afford.
An especially troubling trend is the approval of apartments and luxury townhouses which locals can hardly afford to purchase.
Another critical problem main stakeholders have chosen to ignore is current efforts to increase affordable housing have a minuscule impact.
For instance, Richmond’s population is more than 200,000, whereby an estimated 26 per cent of these are renters, making it impossible for the available housing to meet their needs.
Moreover, the underlying debate on Richmond’s housing crisis is that the persistent finger-pointing appears to be a deliberate attempt to create a state of helplessness that sustains the status quo.
It’s often stated Richmond’s housing crisis is due to the federal government’s failure to develop policies for affordable housing.
However, this ignores the fact some housing policy decisions occur locally. Therefore, it is apparent that the city staff’s sentiments are a deliberate attempt at hoodwinking the public over the issues in play.
Overall, Richmond city staff’s suggestion that the city’s housing problem is strictly an external one is misleading. A municipal-level solution stands out as the first solution to the worsening housing problem.
Notably, Richmond residents must voice their displeasure with the city’s attempts to deflect.
Moreover, the city must embrace the duty to secure affordable housing for its residents, including the willingness to look past profits and implement projects that benefit the average-income Richmond resident and not just high earners or foreign investors.
Jack Trovato
RICHMOND
