The Editor,
Re. “Highrise limits lifted by Coquitlam council” (The Tri-City News, Aug. 4).
Coquitlam city council is considering a proposal to build 25-storey apartment towers in the Austin Heights neighbourhood. I want to know why council wants all these expensive apartments. The community doesn’t need more expensive apartments. No one is crying out for them.
There is, however, a great need for low-cost apartments, including rental apartments.
In the Austin Heights neighbourhood, I would like to see a four-storey limit for buildings, containing only low-cost apartments.
The only answer to my question, the only one I can imagine, is that council is hungry for development cost charges to pay for the fancy changes they want to make in our neighbourhood, or to pay for other projects they consider desirable — but may not be anywhere near as urgent as the need for affordable housing.
I hope Coquitlam council will arrange for city residents to have what they need, which is a good supply of low-cost housing.
Jane Shoemaker, Coquitlam
