Dear Editor,
Re: “City staff urge legalizing illegal hotels,” News, Jan. 3.
There are seagulls and crows ravaging the piles of garbage left out on the street of the illegal hotel operating next door.
Since the original owner sold the house back in August 2015, it has been operating as an illegal hotel. Sometimes, there are five or six cars in the driveway and people are showing up at all hours of the night.
After reading the Richmond News article that states, “The City of Richmond wants to move ahead with new regulations that will allow for the conversion of single-family homes into legal hotels,” it was made clear that city staff and our elected officials are looking for the easiest solution to this issue — not one that’s in the best interest of residents.
Our property taxes have never been higher, yet the city hasn’t spent any of that revenue on increasing enforcement of bylaws that would stamp out the illegal practice. In 2016, not a single fine had been issued, according to the article.
What the City fails to recognize is that the people who have been living in these neighbourhoods for many years purchased their homes there because it was a single-family neighbourhood. To allow the single-family houses to now change status and become a hotel is nothing but irresponsible. It allows for mismanagement of waste removal practices, public noise disturbances, parking issues and allows an ever-changing host of unfamiliar people to enter the neighbourhood, which brings up issues of public safety.
The article also states that allowing for house-hotels has some benefits: it enables homeowners to generate additional revenue and provides tourists with more affordable accommodation.
Hotels are for short-term, overnight stays. Houses in residential neighbourhoods are for families.
If our elected officials unwisely choose to allow these residential hotels, then it only stands to reason that from the huge increase in property taxes we have incurred, they should be able to budget for bylaw officers to conduct regular inspections and issue fines for non compliance, if needed.
Having lived next to one of these illegal operations for more than a year, I strongly oppose allowing single-family homes to become legal hotels.
Alasdair Kaye
Richmond
