Another neighbour speaks up

On October 27 John Brunke announced his change of position regarding the construction of a possible apartment building at the corner of Arthur and Victoria Streets in Colborne. Tracy Singleton has written her response below:

October 31, 2009


I would like to respond to the letter written by John Brunke with regard to the application to re-zone the lands at the corner of Victoria and Arthur Streets.

Firstly, it is my understanding that at this stage we are opposing the re-zoning not the building, albeit if the re-zoning is allowed the building will be the result. I for one do NOT want a two-storey, fourteen unit apartment building at the end of my street. We have a residential neighbourhood of mostly bungalows and split level housing. An “L” shaped building of this size will be a big “white elephant”. It is also my understanding that the builder is proposing eighteen parking spaces in the rear. Just the increased traffic should be of great concern to people in the neighbourhood.

Secondly, we have been told the building will be for rental to seniors in Colborne who would like to downsize from their houses. This would require them being able to sell their houses in the first place. Not an easy thing to do in this economy!

There are many, many rental units in Colborne already, some of which were built specifically for seniors and it is my understanding they couldn’t fill them. I have also been told they are now being rented to individuals whose housing is being subsidized by the Government. We now have too many low income rentals in Colborne and it is my concern that if the builder cannot fill his units he will welcome subsidized housing too.

Lastly, I would like to make it clear Mr. Brunke will not be speaking on my behalf at the November 17th Town Council meeting as I intend to be there to speak for myself. I urge all of you to attend this meeting. We do not have to just “accept the proposal to build, unchallenged, and carry on with our day to day activities”.

I agree with Mr. Brunke that growth is good for our community but not this kind of growth. I would like to see this land used in a positive way and it is zoned for a community facility and that would be positive growth.

Sincerely,

Tracy Singleton