The Editor,
Re. “49 storeys plus 101 rental units planned for BQ” (The Tri-City News, Nov. 9).
Coquitlam does need more housing for our growing population but it does not need any more high-cost housing. Coquitlam has an urgent need for more low-cost housing, especially low-cost rental housing. And of course, low-cost housing of adequate quality should never be destroyed to make space for highrise towers, not in Austin Heights or anywhere else.
By “adequate quality,” I mean housing that can be lived in comfortably, satisfying all requirements for heat, electricity, plumbing, etc.
Council can control the type of new housing built in our city by the use of zoning.
Coquitlam citizens want our mayor and council to put the needs of the people first and not be thinking of what income they might get from highrise development cost levies and demolition fees.
Jane Shoemaker, Coquitlam
