Viva Towns (19-41 Mill St) | 4 + 3fl | U/C

[danbrotherston]

That's on the opposite side of the city! So wait...which neighbourhood association is he from?

Yeah...honestly, these folks are self defeating. You could argue there are reasonable objections that could be raised, but the reliability which certain groups oppose ANY development whatsoever makes it impossible to take ANY objections seriously, it's easy to dismiss them all, because they're usually anti-progress bullshit.

Assholes like that harm ALL of our ability to raise legitimate issues. So even if you don't care about affordable housing, or any serious issues, and just want front porches or something like that (a legitimate, but in my opinion minor objection), he's still screwing us over.

I definitely get this argument, but I also think it's valid for all residents' voices to be heard on these issues. As a member of WR YIMBY, I have spoken at numerous council meetings, including Waterloo, even though I live in Kitchener. I have had other delegations tell me that I should not be allowed to speak because only neighbours voices should be heard. That seems problematic to me (Also, I suspect that if I was against the development, I may have been welcomed to speak even though I didn't live nearby

I mean, I think there is a difference between speaking at a council meeting in favour of a development on behalf of the people who might want to live there, and speaking at a council meeting (and to a newspaper) pretending to object to the character of your neighbourhood being changed (whatever that means, we all have our theories), when you don't even live there.

If these folks want to come and say "I don't think this should be built because I think the city I'm living in shouldn't have neighbourhoods like that"...sure...if they come and say "I don't want MY neighbourhood changed" and they don't live there, they're lying or at least significantly misrepresenting the facts.

But ultimately, I don't think they should be silenced, I just think our council should grow a pair and stop coddling entitled property owners no matter where in the city they are. Politically, I'm sure they feel that's unwise, and that Guelphs Mayor is crazy when he says stuff like that, but ultimately, I have more disagreement with Guelphs Mayor's policies than our councils, but I have WAY more respect for him as politician.  (And to be clear, many on council are far better than others...but I was disappointed by the positioning of this decision as a win win from all who spoke about it).