Now, more than ever, we need to build housing in this province. We are in a housing crisis which, if continued, risks pricing our entire generation out of a place to live.
If you were to ask someone if this was true, they would most likely agree. I mean, why wouldn’t they? It’s a non-controversial statement that allows the person saying it to signal support and solidarity to one demographic without upsetting another.
But often when this statement is said, it’s the extent of how far they are willing to go when it comes to building housing. If you ask them for specifics or give them a scenario / opportunity for housing to be built, they don’t sound like the same person who says “we need to build housing.”
We’ve seen a case like this in our province within the past several months with opposition to the development at 34 Battery Road and 30 Cabot Avenue. This development by Trifecta Group will build 25 town houses and 3 executive homes on the plot. That’s 28 new homes for families and others to buy in a great part of our city.
But unfortunately, there are some who oppose the development, citing issues such as snow clearing, loss of green space, and concern for heritage.
I do understand the concerns, but I fear that we are falling into the Not In My Backyard (NIMBY) slop that has prevented progress on the housing files in so many cities across the globe. We are not talking about radically redesigning The Battery, we are talking about building houses next to pre-existing homes on a plot which has been zoned for this purpose.
We are not talking about turning The Battery into high rise galore Manhattan, or terra-forming it to build a data centre in its place, which is the vibe you might get from seeing the opposition to this development.
Don’t get me wrong, The Battery is an amazing piece of heritage for this province. It has a rich history and is a prominent feature in our tourism advertising, such as postcards and government advertisements. But to act like constructing these houses will ruin the aesthetic and tourism appeal of The Battery is wrong and misleading.
Every part of this province has a history, but we don’t use that as a reason not to change or develop anything; every place or thing cannot be a designated historical site or green space. Building housing here does not ruin everything about The Battery, as some opposed to the construction of these homes would have you believe.
There have also been those who have criticized how the housing being built will be expensive and out of the price range for many, which is true — the housing will be expensive. But that’s not solely because of the type of housing being built, it’s because we have a massive housing shortage, and the only way we will lower the price of housing is by actively building developments — such as this one.
In the meantime, the city would collect new revenue from the property taxes on these homes, allowing for more revenue to be allocated to things such as snow removal, garbage collection and other programs to improve the city.
Those who oppose this development, while sincere and passionate, are unfortunately recycling NIMBY talking points, which will only hold our city back. I’m so glad that this plot of land is already zoned for this type of development because I am uncertain that our city council would stand up to the NIMBY pressure it would face, as seen by many on council and others in the political sphere pandering to protesters with words of support and countless “I wish there was something we could do” statements.
Housing is needed on a grand scale now more than ever. While I will be the first to say we need to stand up for history and historical sites, we should not attempt to disrupt developments with exaggerations and anti-building tropes.