Re: More Peaks grief and New housing director sets focus on strategic priorities.
In brief, reading these two articles brought some positives, even a chuckle, which sometimes these days in Canmore with Town council decisions can be hard to get.
The chuckle was from Sean Krausert when he says “intuitively seems low” reacting to the $50,000 value for a Wilson Way lot; a common reaction might be “you think, really?”
That would come from most folks who are currently looking at their brand new, refreshing assessments for yet more taxes.
Refreshing is the word I will use again (if I might) for Dougal Fortheath’s comment, “And then most importantly, collaborating with the private sector to support the provision of affordable housing in the municipality.”
It’s high time more creative thinking be accessed (if possible) to ask private sector owners of large undeveloped properties in Canmore to do what some private developers in New York city have done, and that is to develop affordable homes that still make them some money and yet provide real community benefits.
If New York can be that creative in one of the most expensive cities on the planet, then surely we can ask some of these developers to put their pipe dreams of huge “walk away millions” aside and get creative and long term thinking in place.
Then, possibly, we might be able to stop developing parks and green spaces in our town.
Douglas Maclean,
Canmore
