There is no doubt that Squamish is changing, and it is great to see its residents contributing to the future of our town. I also appreciate how the District of Squamish has encouraged this dialogue with its public engagement efforts.
Whether people are pro or anti-development, I understand that people are working to create the community that best serves Squamish residents.
Personally, I believe in a community that enriches the lives of all its members. A Squamish where people can afford to live; a Squamish that gives back to people what they put in.
A community where they have the opportunity and economic means to make the decisions that are right for themselves and their family. I believe in a community where families have access to childcare and social and recreational amenities. I believe in a community where people that work for a living, are paid a living. I believe that everyone who lives here deserves to call our community home.
Squamish is experiencing an affordability crisis, maybe most pronounced in the cost of housing. Despite the need for more affordable housing and the development of housing stock, home prices have never been higher and rental rates are becoming unreachable for many.
Supply and demand is touted as the solution to our housing crisis — if we build more housing to meet demand, prices will eventually correct. We haven’t seen the fruits of this approach, and waiting for a possible correction is not sensitive to the urgency of this affordability crisis.
It’s a complicated problem, to be sure. Because of Squamish’s financial situation — having more debt than assets and aging infrastructure —– the municipality does not have available funds for affordable public housing. The District also has limited access to land, which is why densification is being explored. If we look at development as a means to meet the needs of an evolving town, the case could be made that recent developments could be doing more.
Developers play a role in alleviating these challenges, being required to contribute a small percentage of the value of their project as Community Amenity Contributions (CACs).
It’s my understanding that these CACs can be in the form of creating below-market units, childcare spaces, funds for infrastructure, or public amenities. Developer CACs have been valuable, but so far, are not enough to resolve the affordability crisis or significantly contribute to our infrastructure needs.
Developers who want to do business in Squamish should be working to meet our needs as a community; they need to add value to the lives of people who already live here. Developers should contribute a greater amount to CACs.
As a resident of Garibaldi Estates, I have participated in the conversation about a new neighbourhood plan and share some of my neighbours' concerns over a changing neighbourhood.
I recognize that the community's needs have evolved, and so must our approach to ensure all its residents are supported. The District’s comprehensive rezoning efforts in my neighbourhood will bring clarity to what we want and don’t want and will do away with bureaucratic inefficiencies. I am in support of the smart densification of Squamish — densification that prioritizes the needs of Squamish over the profits of corporations.
We need to advance developments that help to meet the needs of the whole community, rather than yield to the voices of a loud few. Change is inevitable; I want to ensure that the change we see is for the benefit of all of our community’s members.
Sean Easton
Garibaldi Estates
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