PelhamToday received the following letter to the editor regarding the recent decision to permit the replacement of affordable rental housing with six 'estate homes':
First and foremost, I would like to highlight my personal history with the property now known as Canboro Estates. My initial encounter with that beautiful property was in 1973 while visiting a good friend who rented the small apartment above the garage. I can say that not much has changed over the past 51 years except for the constant maintenance and the severance of one home.
This property was owned by Cecil Stirtzinger (farmer and developer) and his sister Marjorie Stirtzinger (first principal of A.K. Wigg Public School). They created a small community with affordable housing. The historic home at 90 Canboro Rd was turned into a 3-unit apartment, the 2nd story of the garage, a small affordable home, and the barn that backs on Daleview Drive became a 4-unit apartment building. It was a small-knit community which even had a large garden.
T.R. Hinan's controversial development of six estate homes on this property was passed by a 4 to 3 vote by our town council. Sometimes, being on the losing side of the vote might mean not being in touch with what Pelham should stand for, but this time is different. Mayor Junkin, Wayne Olsen and Brian Eckhart should be applauded for standing up for the citizens living in arguably some of the last affordable housing left in Pelham, specifically the 4-unit apartment backing onto Daleview Dr.
Living in Pelham for the past 48 years at the same location on Emmett St., I have witnessed other affordable housing for those in need being torn down for progress. I have heard about the landowners who gladly told their tenants they would be allowed to return after the new development was built. However, the site remains vacant to this day, more than two years after the demolition.
I may be wrong, but the last affordable building in Pelham was the seniors building beside the Fonthill library. It was built in the 1980s, and over the years many of the affordable apartments in that complex have disappeared.
How do three of the four councillors who approved Hinan's proposed development justify their decision?
Where can those citizens in need begin to look for affordable housing? Maybe the councillors who voted for H.R. Hinan's six estate homes will let these Pelham residents live in their homes while they face the challenge of finding a place to live within their means. I know some councillors have a heart for their citizens and residents of Pelham.
It is obvious: Hinan will not take on renters, seeing the 90 Canboro Rd. apartment, which was initially part of this property, is now up for sale. Those tenants living in that affordable lodging will be the next casualty.
A quarter of a million people are experiencing homeless—the highest number in Ontario's history. How do three of the four councillors who approved Hinan's proposed development justify their decision? What are Shellee Niznik's reasons for her support? John Wink, Bob Hildebrandt, and Kevin Ker claimed that they are stopping the two-storey apartment from becoming a three-storey apartment. Does that make any sense to anyone? The province has demanded more homes to be built, there is a shortage of affordable homes in Pelham, and these same four councillors have approved two much larger apartments to be built in Fonthill, so why stop a meagre three-storey rental?
These four councillors have approved Hinan to displace senior citizens and people who paid their rent, which has been affordable to their standards. It is not like kicking people out for not paying the agreed amount of rent but displacing people for paying.
Citizens of Pelham have told me that our small-town feeling and sense of community have been lost in the last few years. The lack of leadership and compassion by these four councillors proves the criticism by many of our town residents. Pelham deserves a council that will stand up for its residents regardless of their income level and not only developers. A community is measured by how it treats the most vulnerable, not by how it grovels to developers.
Looking for a council with a heart.
Mike Jones
Fonthill
