I know that everyone, and particularly young people, are concerned about housing. We need more affordable rental units and starter homes.
The increased homelessness on our streets is the direct result of the imbalance between population growth and housing construction. All the major political parties realize that population growth requires adequate housing. I will push for mode Federal funding for housing to bring it inline with population growth. We also need training programs for more construction workers. The City’s current strategy for increasing housing supply emphasizes affordable housing. To date this has meant around $13 million of Federal funds have been directed towards subsidizing the construction of nearly 500 new apartments. These are mainly in multistory buildings, built in new neighborhoods, and owned by big corporations.
We need other types of housing as well, particularly townhouses, so that entry level residents can have their own place. We are in the midst of a housing crisis. Does it make sense to you that the city land development office makes up to a 30% profit on the sale of new building plots for first time homeowners? Profit which is then used to pay for land for the arena. Does it make sense that in the midst of a housing crisis, we pull down perfectly good homes to put up new buildings? The city should sell townhouse lots at cost. Building will be cheaper, older housing stock should be refurbished. These changes will reduce the need for costly subsidy programs that eat up administration time.