When I first saw the plans for the development on 24th Street and 6th Avenue, I was impressed in a positive way. For starters, we need more places for families to rent.
In Castlegar, many businesses are short staffed. I believe that is largely because people who want to move here to work can’t find housing. Castlegar will grow and we need to have rentals for working families. As we know, many people will never be able to buy a home, and unless there are buildings committed to providing long-term rentals for families we, as a city, will always be playing catch-up, and functioning in a near crisis mode, not to be the place for measured decision making.
Apartment buildings are also a good way to address climate change. People need to live closer together in order to share resources. A nice little bistro and a corner store will be a great addition to that part of town. Kinnaird, before it was incorporated into Castlegar, provided some of these neighborhood amenities that are sorely missed.
I was surprised and dismayed when I saw the resistance to this development, even though B.C. has legislated that all communities have an official plan to be used for development.
As an elder in this town, I look forward to needing more home care, and people who come in to do this work will need a place to rent. The schools want more teachers and assistants, the Health Center needs nurses, Home Hardware needs staff. I’m sure you can think of many other examples.
The proposed development looks very beautiful, and it looks like they are very accommodating to people’s concerns.
Shemmaho Goodenough
Castlegar, B.C.
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