Those who object to adding housing are good at making fallacious arguments misrepresenting the source and solution of perceived problems.
They’ll claim that greater density increases utility costs, ignoring that water is metered, sewer is charged on water consumption, garbage volume is limited unless a surcharge is paid and municipal utility construction and maintenance costs are covered by more tax revenue from increased assessed values.
NIMBYs accuse suite occupants of being noisy when in reality partiers can legally rent a whole house and create noise. They accuse suite occupants of driving dangerously, when in fact many suite occupants cannot afford vehicles, and drunken house owners and misbehaved children cause safety problems on the street. Those are issues of policing not zoning, yet councils spend on micro-managing property owners instead of policing.
And NIMBYs appeal to the collective about preserving views from their residence. They are trying to freeze time – they’ve got their piece of the rock, but by their actions they are saying no one else deserves any. Never mind that aging Oak Bay residents who have to give up their homes would benefit from construction of a care facility that the NIMBYs try to make more expensive or block completely.
What’s going on with NIMBYs? They are trying to control others’ property at no cost to themselves. That is selfish. Why are voters electing politicians who block the freedom of honest people on behalf of incompetent and dishonest people?
Keith Sketchley
Saanich