10-05-2017, 02:45 PM
(10-05-2017, 02:23 PM)MidTowner Wrote: I often take umbrage at the term “NIMBY,” too, as someone who is interested in development, interested in my neighbourhood, and therefore sometimes interested (and sometimes critical…) in developments in my neighbourhood. But, sometimes people really do just resist change, any change.
Renters can absolutely be attached to their communities and neighbours. It’s not reasonable to suggest that someone necessarily has more attachment to a neighbourhood- or right to an opinion about how it changes- just because he rents instead of owns his house.
I live in this neighbourhood- on the Kitchener side, not in Waterloo. I have to say, the complaints about this development really do seem reactionary and driven by a desire to maintain the status quo.
Their comments are that “This represents a undeniable densification of our neighbourhood, increased traffic, and a big change to our skyline. Because our neighbourhood is currently dominated by older single-family detached homes, this proposed development also represents a significant change to the type of neighborhood we are.”
I think densification is called for in our neighbourhood; I think the increased traffic should be mitigated by the public transit nearby (and, I would hope, the incumbent residents’ increased use of it; I think it’s hard to make a case that a six-storey building can be a “big” change to our skyline, or that we even really have a “skyline.” I just can’t see any of it. It does seem like selfishness to me: the woman who wrote that also called MPAC to reach a guess that the apartment building “will cause the value of my property to drop by at least 5%.”
I also think these concerns are myopic. My selfish hope is that more residents in the neighbourhood might mean more amenities I can enjoy.
Well said !!