Edmonton-area NIMBY ###### opposes Habitat for Humanity

[driveway]

Originally Posted by mykalberta

Why, because I asked for a map of the proposed area, or because I am the only one that realizes that putting up one of these homes in a high home value area might affect home values. The guy who wrote the letter has issues, but the root of his point is a sound one.

No, the root of his point is not sound. The root of his point is based on false assumptions and a lack of information, as is yours.

[Bring_Back_Shantz]

How big of a develpment are they planning on building?

I was under the impression that Habitat for Humanity just sort of built a few houses, here and there, not big complexes.

Does this guy seriously believe a handful of homes are going to attract enough drug dealers, "unruly families", and speeders, to make the schools, parks, and roads, of St. Albert into a war zone?

[I-Hate-Hulse]

Originally Posted by mykalberta

Its one thing to build these in run down neighborhoods in an effort to rebuild the neighborhood, but its another entirely to put one up in an area with high home value.

It would be like putting one up in Forest Lawn compared to Hillhurst/Sunnyside/Tuscany.

Actually the Hillhurst area is getting a ~100 unit affordable housing apartment condo complex - its the massive building under construction at the corner of 14th St and 5th Ave N.W. Next to the Husky/Regal Beagle.

[frinkprof]

Originally Posted by Bring_Back_Shantz

How big of a develpment are they planning on building?

I was under the impression that Habitat for Humanity just sort of built a few houses, here and there, not big complexes.

Does this guy seriously believe a handful of homes are going to attract enough drug dealers, "unruly families", and speeders, to make the schools, parks, and roads, of St. Albert into a war zone?

From what I understand, it is a 58-unit complex, only 14 of which are Habitat for Humanity units.

[Bring_Back_Shantz]

Originally Posted by frinkprof

From what I understand, it is a 58-unit complex, only 14 of which are Habitat for Humanity units.

Well there you have it.
14 families are certainly more than enough to ruin the entire city.
This guy is clearly justified!

[frinkprof]

Originally Posted by I-Hate-Hulse

Actually the Hillhurst area is getting a ~100 unit affordable housing apartment condo complex - its the massive building under construction at the corner of 14th St and 5th Ave N.W. Next to the Husky/Regal Beagle.

Yes. This is the Brenda Strafford Centre. I don't know all the details as to who will end up living there, but I assume it would be for victims of domestic violence, since that is the focus of the Brenda Strafford Foundation.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by driveway

No, the root of his point is not sound. The root of his point is based on false assumptions and a lack of information, as is yours.

The letter-to-the-editor guy was out to lunch, but I don't think mykalberta has said anything too crazy.

I would have thought crime was more prevelant in lower-income areas, but maybe I'm wrong. You guys all seem to know for a fact that isn't true and I'd be curious to see some support for it (although not curious enough to do any leg work myself lol). There are probably readily available statistics that could support this one way or another.

Also, sprinkling a few Habitat for Humanity houses within communitites seems like a great idea to me, but isn't this building a relatively large, dense tract of low-income housing? Seems to me they are making what could be a ghetto. I thought the lesson learned from the States was that didn't work.

I also think it's a valid concern to want to watch your property value. Poorly maintained houses affect the value of a neighbourhood. If I lived close to this site, I would be interested to know what long-term maintenance plan there was in place for these units (inside and out). My house was built in '69 (nnniiiiiccce) and I've had to put a lot of money into it to keep it looking sharp:

edit: the below was an excel sheet I copied and pasted into here...came out looking like crap. Basically I was just saying I spent ~$30K on my house this year in maintenance items.

July-09Hardwood (refinish main floor from yellow/orange to darker stain) $ 3,500.00 July-09New light fixtures throughout $ 750.00 July-09Painting, Baseboards & Light Carpentry $ 7,500.00 July-09Washer/Dryer $ 1,960.00 August-09New closet shelving & master bath mirror $ 250.00 August-09custom rug for living room and front hall $ 1,250.00 September-09Roof $ 7,697.00 September-09Dishwasher $ 820.00 October-09Garage Door $ 1,250.00 October-09tiles and toilets $ 1,150.00 October-09outside faucet shut-off valves (x2) $ 200.00 November-09Attic Insulation $ 775.00 November-09fan motor $ 45.00 December-09furnace cleaning $ 272.53 December-09Glass sliding door master shower/tub $ 675.00 December-09Exterior front door $ 740.00 February-10new eavestrough and flashing around whole house $ 1,700.00 TOTAL $30,534.53

A lower-income person would not be able to afford this stuff, and I still have more to spend to get it where I want it. Sure there will be a maintenance holiday on a newer-build, but eventually the costs of home-ownership are going to arise and a lot of those could be significant. What is the plan for that? If the homes are not maintained to a certain standard, what then?

At the end of the day, I really like the program and it's great to limit class diversity as much as possible. If it was in my backyard, I would have a few concerns, though. I think some of you guys aren't being 100% truthful if you're saying you wouldn't have at least a few reservations.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Bring_Back_Shantz

Well there you have it.
14 families are certainly more than enough to ruin the entire city.
This guy is clearly justified!

I suppose it depends on the families in question.

[Reaper]

Wow, that letter was the douchiest thing I've read all day. Today I was getting all down on myself for being a jerk but then I read that and I thought "at least I'm not an uppity, self importantant janitor."

[Sidney Crosby's Hat]

This is the same city that opposed using Edmonton Transit because it would attract all the riff raff into the community. The extra dollar you have to pay on St. Albert Transit keeps them out.