Dear editor,

Why isn鈥檛 the City of Courtenay promoting home ownership?

Recent provincial changes permit multi-units under R-SSMUH zoning, allowing the construction of a four-plex on lots over 300 square metres. However, the city has imposed a condition that if you want to sell each of the four homes individually, each home must be on a 270 square metre lot. 

This means that while you can build four rental homes on a 300 sqm lot, individual ownership requires a 1,080 sqm lot. Why must ownership need a lot 3.6 times the size?

This policy is a complete affront to home ownership. It essentially ensures that any new four-plexes built will be for rentals only, rather than for first-time home buyers. Instead of facilitating the construction of these homes to help people enter the housing market, the city has deliberately placed a roadblock.

By creating these rules, the City of Courtenay is favouring investors over homeowners. This discourages building smaller homes that could help people escape the cycle of renting.

Why is the city not supporting initiatives that promote home ownership and help first-time buyers enter the market? The current policies hinder rather than help, making it clear that the city is not prioritizing home ownership.

Thomas Hart

Courtenay