Dear Editor
Mayor Derek Corrigan and city Council recently accepted a staff report called “Growth Management and Housing Policies in Burnaby.”
The report was a response to resident concerns about the demolition of affordable rental apartments in Metrotown to make way for massive condo towers.
Last June, local residents spoke at a rezoning hearing and expressed their frustration and anger at the way these large redevelopment projects were pushing people out of their homes and communities and creating a significant loss of affordable housing in the neighbourhood.
They wanted the city to put in place policies that would stop these demolitions and require replacement of rental units accessible to low-income and working people due to redevelopment.
The report that responded to these concerns was a 15-page document that justified a “business-as-usual” stance on the part of the city: the buildings being demolished are old and are at the end of their life-cycle; we need to build more housing for our increasing population; densification increases affordability in the area, we’re bound by bylaws and policies, and the senior levels of government need to pitch in to address the housing crisis.
The report should have been called “Displacement by Design.” The fact is that the city controls land use and zoning; these are in their powers to deploy in the interests of protecting residents and communities from the violence of gentrification and displacement.
Based on this report, the city approved redevelopment projects (in various stages) for three sites in Metrotown, which will entail the demolitions of 10 apartment buildings and the eviction of hundreds of residents.
The mayor and city council need to stop the “our hands are tied – we can’t do anything” discourse and take seriously their responsibility for protecting residents against the power of corporate development, and doing everything in their power to ensure adequate, affordable and secure housing for renters in this city.
Dave Diewert, Burnaby
