Re: 鈥淚nclusionary housing could increase costs, group tells Victoria,鈥� Feb. 14.
The Urban Development Institute is, from its own website, the 鈥減remier voice of the sa国际传媒 real estate development industry鈥� and not the same as the City of Victoria 鈥渨orking group鈥� that was appointed to examine provision of affordable housing in new condo developments.
(Now that鈥檚 clear, where are the minutes of this city-appointed working group? I鈥檇 like to read them. I鈥檓 sure the city requires them for accountability purposes.)
Some public-relations genius has attached the term 鈥渄evelopment community鈥� to the UDI. This group is not a 鈥渃ommunity.鈥� It is a self-interested coalition of developers primarily concerned with maximizing profit, not with providing housing. Building the housing is just what developers do on the way to get to the money.
The executive director, Kathy Hogan, tries to convince the real City of Victoria community that the policy requiring that 10 to 15 per cent of new condo developments be 鈥渁ffordable鈥� rentals, proposed by councillors Jeremy Loveday and Ben Isitt, won鈥檛 fly.
I can鈥檛 help but think Hogan does not have unhoused individuals and families at the forefront when she lists all the ways Loveday and Isitt鈥檚 policy would get in the way of maximizing profit for developers.
As a resident of Victoria, I look forward to Loveday and Isitt continuing to bring attention to the ways the worship of profit gets in the way of building a society 鈥� including building housing 鈥� that is based on real caring for each other and not on 鈥渕arket forces.鈥�
Diane McNally
Victoria
