letter

[Adrian House]

Hi everyone,

I can't make the meeting tonight, but I have drafted the following letter.  Please look it over and see what you think.  Cheers,

Adrian

------------

Dear Councillors _____

 

On CBC news yesterday, I heard a heartbreaking story about a couple who has been forced to live in a hotel due to the astronomical rents in St. John's, and their inability to find an affordable apartment.  As of today, they had to leave the hotel.  Who knows where they have gone now. 

 

And so I am writing to you on behalf of the newly formed group St. John's Citizens for Affordable Housing (SJCAH).  We are a group of concerned citizens that has come together over the past month in response to the housing crisis that we feel exists in our city.  It's not a simple situation, but we feel that there are a few crucial measures that need to be addressed to improve it, and that council is crucial in addressing them. 

 

The vacancy rate in St. John's currently sits at 1% (CMHC report), a precarious situation for renters, and the rents for what is available have skyrocketed and continue to do so.  To change this situation, more affordable housing needs to be built and we need rent controls in the city.  We are aware that the city is trying to rectify the situation, in its own way, with the Advisory Committe on Affordable Housing, especially with the Pleasantville developments.  However we feel that this isn't nearly enough.  Its not social housing we're advocating for specifically; it's affordable, well-maintained apartments downtown which we feel are lacking and quickly disappearing.  Everywhere you look, there is a new condominium development or hotel being built downtown.  Where are the affordable apartment developments?  In the past 20 years, Halifax has built approx. 800 new aparment units.  St. John's?  Zero.  This is shameful.  A city's downtown is its heart, and we feel that everyone should be able to live there comfortably, whether you're an oil executive, an artist working part time jobs, or simply someone with a lower income.  As things are right now, there won't be many of the latter 2 groups around, and the city will be a poorer, less vibrant place as a result. 

 

Apart from development, the other issue is rent.  There are no rent controls in this city or province, and, now that St. John's has become so prosperous, landlords are taking advantage of this.  Rents have increased astronomically in the past five years.  Our average rent for a 2 brdm ($744) is now higher than Montreal's ($703), and rent rates increased by 9.0% in St. Johns between April 2011 ($744) and 2010 ($680), making it the highest monthly rental increase in Canada over the past year, according to CMHC.  The only way to stem these increases is through rent control legislation, which is in place in almost every province except Newfoundland.  We're aware that this is provincial jurisdiction, but it is affecting St. John's citizens more than any others, and so we feel that city council has a responsibility to advocate for rent controls to the provincial government as part of the PC's poverty reduction strategy.  

 

What else can city council do?  Apart from advocating for rent controls, we are asking that you, as our council, implement a different development strategy, a strategy where developers are encouraged to build affordable apartments, and not condos or hotels.  This can be done with tax incentives for developers to build apartments, and other incentives for property owners.  We would like to see a halt to new condo and hotel developments downtown - there are enough of those already.  Such a strategy would go a long way towards rectifying the current crisis. 

 

Prosperity should be shared amongst everyone, not just the elite and those who happen to own property.  Do we want to become a stratified city where a small, well-off section of the popultion enjoys a comfortable, luxurious life, while the rest are forced to scape by?  I'm sure that your answers to this quetion is no.  The St. John's of 10 years ago wasn't like this.  We feel that the immediate solution to bring back our livable city is, as outlined above, for council to have a development strategy focussed on apartments, and to advocate for rent controls.  These measures would go a long way to ensure that what happened to the couple in the news doesn't happen again.  You are our representatives as citizens of this city, and we are turning to you to make these changes.  Will you commit to implementing them? 

 

Thank you for reading our letter, and we look forward to hearing from you.

 

Yours Sincerely, 

 

Adrian House (on behalf of SJCAH) 

 

 

   

[Justin Brake]

Awesome Adrian....

I did a quick edit and made a few modifications to the wording.

i'll be there this evenin'!

j


Dear Councillors _____

 

On CBC news yesterday, I heard a heartbreaking story about a couple who has been forced to live in a hotel due to the astronomical rents in St. John's, and their inability to find an affordable apartment.  As of today, they had to leave the hotel.  Who knows where they have gone now. 

 

And so I am writing to you on behalf of the newly formed group St. John's Citizens for Affordable Housing (SJCAH).  We are a group of concerned citizens that has come together over the past month in response to the urgent housing crisis in our city. It's a complex situation, however, in the spirit of compassionate community-building we have been working diligently to identify and outline some crucial measures we feel council has the ability to undertake, if each of you shares the same sense of compassion for its city's citizens, which we believe you do.

With the vacancy rate in St. John's currently at 1% (CMHC report), the ability for many to procure one of the basic human needs--to find shelter--is precarious. Rent has been skyrocketing and continues to do so.  To change this situation, we need both more affordable housing units and better rent controls in St. John's. We're aware the city is working with the Advisory Committee on Affordable Housing in an attempt to rectify the situation, particularly with the Pleasantville developments. However, we feel the measures currently being undertaken aren't nearly enough, evidenced by the fact that people are still finding themselves homeless. We are not necessarily advocating for social housing, but rather affordable, well-maintained apartments downtown which are quickly disappearing while luxury condominiums and hotels seem to be under construction everywhere. This is a form of discrimination based on people's, and indeed families', social and economic standing, and it's not a characteristic of the kind of city we care to live in. Let's look to our sister city in Nova Scotia: Over the past 20 years, Halifax has built approximately 800 new apartment units. Here, by contrast, we've built not even one. We are ashamed that we've allowed this to happen. Our downtown is the heart of our city and we feel everyone should be able to live there comfortably, whether you're an oil executive, artist, or low-wage worker. In Newfoundland if we've struggled, we've always struggled together. To systematically exclude people from the heart of our city and province is, like we've said, discriminatory and immoral. As things presently stand, gentrification is well on its way to permanently damaging the cultural vibrancy of our city. Only recently has the idea that wealth is measured in money taken hold here. The very characteristic that makes us proud to be St. John's citizens and Newfoundlanders is our inclusion of all people. It's safe to say the same quality appeals to those who venture here and sustain our tourism industry. 

 

So development is one of our concerns. And the other issue is rent.  There are no rent controls in this city or province, and, now that St. John's has become so prosperous, landlords are taking advantage of this.  Rents have increased astronomically in the past five years.  Our average rent for a 2 brdm ($744) is now higher than Montreal's ($703), and rent rates increased by 9.0% in St. Johns between April 2011 ($744) and 2010 ($680), making it the highest monthly rental increase in Canada over the past year, according to CMHC.  The only way to manage these increases is through rent control legislation, which almost every other Canadian province has implemented.  We're aware this is provincial jurisdiction, but it is affecting St. John's citizens more than any others, and so we feel that city council has a responsibility to advocate for rent controls to the provincial government as part of the PC's poverty reduction strategy.  

 

Apart from advocating for rent controls, we also ask that council implement a different development strategy, one where developers are encouraged to build affordable apartments, not only condos or hotels. This can be achieved via tax incentives for developers to build apartments, as well as through incentives for property owners.  We would like to see a halt to new condo and hotel developments downtown - there are enough of those already.  Such a strategy would go a long way towards rectifying the current crisis. 

 

Prosperity should be shared by and with everyone, not just those who've been fortunate enough to inherit or acquire property by other means.  Do we want to become a stratified city where a small, well-off section of the popultion enjoys a comfortable, luxurious life, while the rest are forced to struggle to meet their basic needs? We know each individual on council would answer 'no' to this question, but we're perplexed as to why and how the situation continues to worsen, since we clearly understand how to do things differently. The St. John's of 10 years ago wasn't like this, and it's not an inevitability that it continue this way. We feel that the immediate solution to bring back our livable, vibrant city is, as outlined above, for council to have a development strategy focussed on apartments, and to advocate for rent controls. These measures will go a long way to ensure that what happened to the couple in the news, and which is happening in similar fashion to others we've come to know via the formation of our group, doesn't continue to exacerbate inequality and injustice in our lovely city. We've elected you to represent us and all those we share our community with, and we have faith that you will do the right thing begin to make these changes. And we'll stand by your side, supporting and appreciating you for your compassionate efforts!

 

Thank you for listening. We look forward to working side by side and building the city we all want to live in.

 

Yours Sincerely, 

 

Adrian House (on behalf of SJCAH) 

 

---

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[Nicole Wilson]

Adrian! This is excellent I support it 110% :) I made some slight
changes and underlined them.
Nicole

Dear Councillors _____

Halifax has built approximately 600 new apartment units in the past
year. By contrast, St. John’s has not built one Over the past 20
years. We are ashamed that we've allowed this to happen. Our downtown

is the heart of our city and we feel everyone should be able to live
there comfortably, whether you're an oil executive, artist, or low-
wage worker. In Newfoundland if we've struggled, we've always
struggled together. To systematically exclude people from the heart of
our city and province is, like we've said, discriminatory and immoral.
As things presently stand, gentrification is well on its way to
permanently damaging the cultural vibrancy of our city. Only recently
has the idea that wealth is measured in money taken hold here. The
very characteristic that makes us proud to be St. John's citizens and
Newfoundlanders is our inclusion of all people. It's safe to say the
same quality appeals to those who venture here and sustain our tourism
industry.

So development is one of our concerns. And the other issue is rent.
There are no rent controls in this city or province, and, now that St.
John's has become so prosperous, landlords are taking advantage of
this. Rents have increased astronomically in the past five years.
Our average rent for a 2 brdm ($744) is now higher than Montreal's
($703), and rent rates increased by 9.0% in St. Johns between April
2011 ($744) and 2010 ($680), making it the highest monthly rental
increase in Canada over the past year, according to CMHC. The only
way to manage these increases is through rent control legislation,

which many other Canadian provinces have implemented. We're aware

this is provincial jurisdiction, but it is affecting St. John's

citizens right now, and so we feel that city council has a

responsibility to advocate for rent controls to the provincial
government as part of the PC's poverty reduction strategy.

Apart from advocating for rent controls, we also ask that council
implement a different development strategy, one where developers are

encouraged to build affordable rental units, not only condos or

hotels. This can be achieved via tax incentives for developers to

build rental units, as well as through incentives for property

owners. We would like to see a halt to new condo and hotel
developments downtown - there are enough of those already. Such a
strategy would go a long way towards rectifying the current crisis.

Prosperity should be shared by and with everyone, not just those
who've been fortunate enough to inherit or acquire property by other
means. Do we want to become a stratified city where a small, well-off

section of the population enjoys a comfortable, luxurious life, while

the rest are forced to struggle to meet their basic needs? We know
each individual on council would answer 'no' to this question, but
we're perplexed as to why and how the situation continues to worsen,
since we clearly understand how to do things differently. The St.
John's of 10 years ago wasn't like this, and it's not an inevitability
that it continue this way. We feel that the immediate solution to

start to bring back our liveable, vibrant city is, as outlined above,

for council to have a development strategy focussed on apartments, and
to advocate for rent controls. These measures will go a long way to
ensure that what happened to the couple in the news, and which is
happening in similar fashion to others we've come to know via the
formation of our group, doesn't continue to exacerbate inequality and
injustice in our lovely city. We've elected you to represent us and
all those we share our community with, and we have faith that you will
do the right thing begin to make these changes. And we'll stand by
your side, supporting and appreciating you for your compassionate
efforts!

Thank you for listening. We look forward to working side by side and
building the city we all want to live in.

Yours Sincerely,

Adrian House (on behalf of SJCAH)

On Dec 6, 5:28 pm, "Justin Brake" <jus...@fernie.com> wrote:
> Awesome Adrian....I did a quick edit and made a few modifications to the wording.

[Andrew Harvey]

Hey everyone,

I recently got added to the distribution list for this group, but have not been able to attend any of the meetings. I apologize for this, but I tend to be far to busy all the time. I may not be able to attend meetings, but I would love to support this great initiative any way I can.

I will continue to follow the emails and contribute any way I can. I may be especially useful if you have any questions related to council, as I regularly attend meetings and have a decent handle on what goes on down there. 

As far as the letter goes, I totally agree with everything in it, but I am not sure what will be accomplished by sending the letter to council, except perhaps some awareness around the issue if media picks up on it. 

Personally, I think that council has done a decent job of making affordable housing an issue, and the city has taken some concrete steps towards making more affordable housing, although it is clearly inadequate as you point out.

The issues related to planning addressed in the letter are important ones but without more concrete steps, a clear ask on what you want, council can easily do nothing. There is an upcoming review of the municipal plan in the new year and this will be an important time for groups like this to become involved and ensure that affordable housing becomes an issue during the discussion on the future of the city. 

Before then, I think it is important to stick to a realistic ask (demand even) of council that they are in a position to say yes to. One issue I think would be a good one to focus on was a commitment of all current members of council to look at implementing a 1/10 policy for new developments, meaning that one in every ten units of a new development must be affordable housing, 200 homes, 20 have to be affordable. Supposedly this is in the works but we could easily pressure them to really make this happen. Scott Morton-Ninomiya (SMorton-...@stjohns.ca) is the cities affordable housing coordinator and an all-round nice guy. He may be able to tell us what this stage is at. Dave Murphy (da...@nlhhn.org) is the guy who is with the NL housing and homelessness network who organized the initiative getting candidates to endorse the commitment to the 1/10 policy, among other things. He might be someone to talk to about the specifics of this too.

Anyways, this is all just my opinion, and I may have a different understanding of the intent of this letter. I don't mean to butt in and criticize after not making it to the meeting either. 

Not sure what people think about this, it is kind of a question of how to approach the issue and how much pressure to exert. I tend to err on the side of least resistance if at all possible and trying not to get peoples backs up.

Have a wonderful day all, and let me know if there is anything else I can do to help out.

Andrew

[Adrian House]

Hey guys, thanks for your edits and additions. And for Andrew's
comments. I guess we have to decide about how to proceed from here.
My feeling is to just send the letter, if there aren't any more edits,
and then go from there in terms of the 1/10 policy or whatever other
specific measures we want to support. At least then council will know
how we feel generally (which I personally believe is representative of
how most people feel in this city about the situation, based on
everyone I've talked to). So I will send the letter in a few days if
there are no further edits or objections. Feel free to copy and paste
any sections for use for whatever.
Also, here's one of the sources:
http://www.buyric.com/news/2011/06/major-canadian-city-monthly-rental-rate-and-vacancy-summary-april-2011-230/

Cheers,
Adrian

> happen. Scott Morton-Ninomiya (SMorton-Ninom...@stjohns.ca) is the cities

> affordable housing coordinator and an all-round nice guy. He may be able to

> tell us what this stage is at. Dave Murphy (d...@nlhhn.org) is the guy who

> ...
>
> read more »

[Adrian House]

p.s. would it be acceptable to anyone for 9/10 of new housing and
apartment developments to be "unaffordable"? Not for me, personally.
The 1/10 should be luxury. Just my current thought.
A

On Dec 7, 2:42 am, Adrian House <adrianho...@nl.rogers.com> wrote:
> Hey guys, thanks for your edits and additions.  And for Andrew's
> comments.  I guess we have to decide about how to proceed from here.
> My feeling is to just send the letter, if there aren't any more edits,
> and then go from there in terms of the 1/10 policy or whatever other
> specific measures we want to support.  At least then council will know
> how we feel generally (which I personally believe is representative of
> how most people feel in this city about the situation, based on
> everyone I've talked to).  So I will send the letter in a few days if
> there are no further edits or objections.  Feel free to copy and paste
> any sections for use for whatever.

> Also, here's one of the sources:http://www.buyric.com/news/2011/06/major-canadian-city-monthly-rental...

> > > all those we share our community with, and we have faith that you will...
>
> read more »

[Erin Piatt]

Hi All,

I think the letter is good, but as Andrew pointed out the council does have this firmly on their radar. I'm not saying we shouldn't send it. It would be good to introduce ourselves as a group representing citizens rights around housing. I'm also feeling that the 1/10 ratio is much too low and think that it should be equal to the ratio of need. What I really want council to do is reasses their development plan and I think this is where we can have the most influence, as Andrew was referring to. My thinking is that if 1/3 of the city is in housing risk then 1/3 of new developments should be "affordable". We also need to address what pricepoint it is we consider to be affordable. Happy City is also doing a lot around community involvement in the city plan so as a group we could make sure we are represented there.

Unfortunately I keep missing meetings... hope to be able to attend soon.

Erin

[Aida M]

Some good thoughts to ponder from Adrian, Andrew and Erin...

I'm over-dosing on the meetings these days, but I do think we need a group discussion around what our goals are exactly and hopefully we can reach a consensus on what we want to advocate for together. This discussion loosely came up at the meeting last night too. Beyond wanting the province to put rent controls in place, I'm not sure what is best to ask of the city or how to approach them.

I wouldn't send the letter off with the group's name on it until our goals are clear. We're not just writing it for the sake of writing it...we want it to do something.

BUT perhaps we can have a non-meeting, more casual discussion over beers/tea sometime...Fri evening at 29 Young St.?

Seems important we have a letter of demands for the city at our 17th event that we're all mostly satisfied with and feel can be effective.
Maybe we should just focus on rent controls instead for now...though our lantern rally to the condo billboard was more a reaction to city policy.

---

Date: Wed, 7 Dec 2011 08:59:17 -0330
Subject: Re: letter
From: erin....@gmail.com
To: st...@googlegroups.com

[Nicole Wilson]

Well I just have to say that I am super happy that these discussion
are taking place that that those of you who couldn't make the meetings
have chimed in! I am really happy to hear what you have to say.

Would everyone be okay with Adrian sending the letter as a concerned
citizen and not having the group name? Adrian, I know you really want
to do something now so perhaps if you send the letter on your own,
then we can come up with something we all agree on and send another
letter later.

I agree with Erin and Adrian that the 1/10 ratio is way too low,
however after attending the City's Affordable housing conference and
sitting at a table with a contractor I know that it will be a hard
sell to even get the 1 out of 10. I know the city is really trying to
come up with ideas that will help the housing situation and also bring
builders into the conversation without scaring them away. This is a
very difficult balancing act.

I see great value in us showing that there are citizens that are going
to put up a fight and will support more affordable housing initiatives
and also keeping an eye on what city council is doing. Maybe it is
naive but I think that this will have an impact on how the councillors
make their decisions.

As for the direction of the group there are two things that I would
like to see us focus on. Rental controls and education about housing
issues. I think it would be excellent if we could actually come up
with a policy that we can then bring to the city and province. This
will require a lot of research and work. It will not be a quick fix.
It will take a LOT of time.

I think where we can have an immediate impact is in the education and
understanding of what is going on in the city. I think this is one of
the most important parts of the occupy movement and I think it is
working. Changing peoples understanding and perceptions of who ends up
with housing issues is, I think, where we need to begin to actually
change the situation. If people can see that if they wake up tomorrow
and loose their job or their partner, or if their friends acquire an
addiction etc. that the likelihood of them being able to keep their
housing is not high, especially if they have no support from family,
friends, and the city around them.

I think that is what I wanted to say. I am really sick today so my
brain is very fuzzy. If we could come up with some sort of agreement
before Saturday I would be much more comfortable specking on behalf of
the group on Saturday at the Human Rights Day event. I know it is not
much time and we have a lot to discuss I just don't want to say the
group thinks this when not everyone does.

On Dec 7, 10:19 am, Aida M <aidamash...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> Some good thoughts to ponder from Adrian, Andrew and Erin...
>
> I'm over-dosing on the meetings these days, but I do think we need a group discussion around what our goals are exactly and hopefully we can reach a consensus on what we want to advocate for together. This discussion loosely came up at the meeting last night too. Beyond wanting the province to put rent controls in place, I'm not sure what is best to ask of the city or how to approach them.
>
> I wouldn't send the letter off with the group's name on it until our goals are clear. We're not just writing it for the sake of writing it...we want it to do something.
>
> BUT perhaps we can have a non-meeting, more casual discussion over beers/tea sometime...Fri evening at 29 Young St.?
>
> Seems important we have a letter of demands for the city at our 17th event that we're all mostly satisfied with and feel can be effective.
> Maybe we should just focus on rent controls instead for now...though our lantern rally to the condo billboard was more a reaction to city policy.

> Date: Wed, 7 Dec 2011 08:59:17 -0330
> Subject: Re: letter

> From: erin.pi...@gmail.com

> To: st...@googlegroups.com
>
> Hi All,
>
> I think the letter is good, but as Andrew pointed out the council does have this firmly on their radar. I'm not saying we shouldn't send it. It would be good to introduce ourselves as a group representing citizens rights around housing. I'm also feeling that the 1/10 ratio is much too low and think that it should be equal to the ratio of need. What I really want council to do is reasses their development plan and I think this is where we can have the most influence, as Andrew was referring to. My thinking is that if 1/3 of the city is in housing risk then 1/3 of new developments should be "affordable". We also need to address what pricepoint it is we consider to be affordable. Happy City is also doing a lot around community involvement in the city plan so as a group we could make sure we are represented there.
>
> Unfortunately I keep missing meetings... hope to be able to attend soon.
>
> Erin
>

> On 7 December 2011 02:12, Adrian House <adrianho...@nl.rogers.com> wrote:
>
> Hey guys, thanks for your edits and additions.  And for Andrew's
>
> comments.  I guess we have to decide about how to proceed from here.
>
> My feeling is to just send the letter, if there aren't any more edits,
>
> and then go from there in terms of the 1/10 policy or whatever other
>
> specific measures we want to support.  At least then council will know
>
> how we feel generally (which I personally believe is representative of
>
> how most people feel in this city about the situation, based on
>
> everyone I've talked to).  So I will send the letter in a few days if
>
> there are no further edits or objections.  Feel free to copy and paste
>
> any sections for use for whatever.
>
> Also, here's one of the sources:
>

> http://www.buyric.com/news/2011/06/major-canadian-city-monthly-rental...

> ...
>
> read more »