Dear Editor,
Re: “Too big for their britches,” News, March 13.
I appreciate very much the formation of the Westwind Ratepayer Association by Lynda Terborg to lobby the city to regulate the size and character of homes in Richmond.
However, the status quo plays right into the hands of the bottom line for developers. More square feet built, more bucks in the pockets of the builder and the government.
Unfortunately, this lack of size-and-character control is ruinous to the stability and integrity of our neighbourhoods.
What amazes me is the unresponsiveness of present and past councils. Should we expect change very soon? Don’t hold your breath. If any reasonable regulations on home size and character ever come to a council vote, I would be surprised to see a majority on council vote for controls.
Can we really expect them to pass bylaws to protect the quality of our neighbourhoods, when many of the current councilors were propelled to power on hundreds of thousands of campaign dollars, much of it from developers?
We may have to wait until following the next municipal election, when contributions to candidates will be limited, to see any real, effective change.
Dr. Kristian von Schalburg
Richmond
