Dear Editor:
I was troubled to read in the Record (June 23, 2017), that tenants at 322 Seventh St. have been given two-month eviction notices to allow for “major renovations.” The renoviction nightmare looks to have found its way to New Westminster. It is not a stretch to think that other buildings will be facing, if they are not already, similar fates in the very near future.
Any changes to the Residential Tenancy Act will likely come too late for the tenants at 322 Seventh St.
I commend the New Westminster city council and mayor for their leadership in creating the rental policy that has gone a long way to preserving purpose-built rental stock in New Westminster. The time has come, however, to address the limitations of that policy and exhaust every possibility to delay issuing permits that would allow the renovictions to take place.
A year ago council imposed a one-year moratorium on demolition of houses of heritage value in Queen’s Park to stop teardowns before council and mayor had time to consider the heritage conservation area review. Coun. Chuck Puchmayr is quoted in the Record (June 22/16) supporting this view: “…If they wanted to preserve that historic neighbourhood, this was the only way of doing it. Otherwise it was going to be demolition after demolition.”
The same is true today, unless permits are delayed, it will be renoviction after renoviction.
To prevent renovictions, council needs to impose a short-term, temporary moratorium on issuing permits for renovations or demolitions of purpose-built rental stock. The Victoria city council is considering a six-month moratorium on demolitions, and unanimously approved a resolution to decline applications to demolish existing residential rental buildings that contain more than four units when the rental vacancy rate is below four per cent. While they recognize that this will be a challenge, council says it will “… to the greatest extent possible within the city’s legal authority” decline applications (Times Colonist, June 22/17).
While I appreciate the limitations that municipal governments have in this situation, these are extraordinary times and the provincial uncertainly only adds to a brewing perfect storm of aging infrastructure and owners keen to apply for permits to renovate or demolish before any changes to the tenancy act are implemented.
To prevent any further renovictions or demovictions, I urge council and mayor to impose a short-term, temporary moratorium on issuing permits, like was done for houses of heritage value when considering the HCA, for renovations or demolitions of purpose-built rental stock.
Jonina Campbell, New Westminster
