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Election day offers opportunity

Re: Social housing plans should be stopped, Letters, Oct. 1.

To the Editor,

Re: Social housing plans should be stopped, Letters, Oct. 1.

I apologize to Lee Masciarelli and any other Harewood residents who might have been offended by my reference to the Harewood wet housing location in my letter of Sept 22.

I was not saying that I think these wet houses should be in your neighbourhood and not mine. I do not agree with these wet houses being built in any of our neighborhoods.

I was trying to point out (obviously not well) the difference in the actual property in your area from our area property.

I am told the facility in Harewood is for 18 units. The building is set back from the street. The side of the building is facing the street with trees, bushes and shrubs between it and the street, as well as treed, undeveloped land beside it.

The busy parkway is indeed a concern.

John Horn, city planner, told us to go and look at the facility in Harewood that was operating already and had the support of the community.

We did go and look for ourselves. Would you come and see what they have in store for us?

In our area, they have chosen a very small property and propose to build a four-storey, 35-40-unit facility.

We’re told the full length of it will be as close to the sidewalk as they can possibly put it with no trees or bushes to prevent the residents from looking directly into our windows and backyards.

This is because they need room for a few parking spaces and a patio for the residents to enjoy the outdoors in back of it. They will have it right up against the Nanaimo Seniors Village building as well.

Their definition of “hard to house” residents is schizophrenics, the mentally unstable, people just released from prison, and the drug and alcohol addicted.

Then they are amazed and shocked that we are frightened and don’t want this next to our homes.

We have the same concerns and fears as you do. I agree that these houses are only going to enable the residents to continue their self-destructive behaviour.

The facility should not have been built in your neighbourhood to begin with. We are all trying to raise our families or retire in safe neighbourhoods throughout the city.

We chose the north end to retire in, to be close to our doctor, our family and Woodgrove shopping centre, not because we are rich (we are not), nor that we didn’t like other areas.

This is not a north-south issue.

We are all in this and I have to wonder if our officials are trying to get the north, south and central areas bickering amongst ourselves to take the attention off of all the misinformation they give us.

All of us have been given the shaft by our city and provincial officials. Hopefully we can all work together to give them the boot on election day.

E.A. Ashcraft

Nanaimo