Little Mountain Housing demolition in progress
On November 6, 2009, crews tore down buildings at Vancouver’s oldest social housing site.
The demolition of Little Mountain Housing is in progress.
In a phone call to the Straight at 9:50 a.m. this morning (November 6), housing activist Rider Cooey reported that crews are tearing down buildings at Vancouver’s oldest social housing site.
Cooey said that noticed heavy equipment at the site, including two big backhoes.
Shortly after, COPE councillor Ellen Woodsworth phoned the Straight. Speaking from Little Mountain, her voice was cracking, she said, "The bulldozers are here. They're tearing down Little Mountain. It's so awful."
Just before 8:00 a.m., the Community Advocates for Little Mountain sent out the following release:
News Release
CALM (Community Advocates for Little Mountain)For immediate release November 6, 2009 / 7:45AM
Wrecking ball starts today to destroy Little Mountain Housing
Protesters block gates and send a messageProtesters’ message to the provincial and city governments:
NEVER AGAIN!
The destruction of Little Mountain is a disaster that must never be repeated! The needless and senseless destruction of a well-functioning community and habitable homes, years before construction can begin, is a major setback for affordable housing in our city.
- It is wrong to destroy a vibrant supportive community. This will be a phased development; with proper planning, tenants could have moved to one part of the site while the other part was being re-developed.
- It is wrong to needlessly destroy affordable housing. Our city is in the midst of the worst housing crisis in history. Affordable rentals keep disappearing at a phenomenal rate and families with low and modest incomes are leaving the city in droves. It is unconscionable to remove 224 affordable homes for a period of several years. It is wrong to put the greed of developers before the housing needs of our people.
- It is wrong to sell public land. Vancouver does not need hundreds of high priced condos – what we do need is a community with 2 or 3 times as many social housing units and additional affordable housing for working class and middle class families. While half of the proceeds may be invested in supportive housing elsewhere (not affordable family housing), permanent assets (land) are being replaced by temporary assets (buildings). The only way to build affordable housing at affordable cost is to build on public land. It is short-sighted and ill-conceived to fund supportive housing out of the proceeds of selling public land. Now, there will never be additional affordable housing on the site.
We need policies that ensure this will not happen again. Several other social housing complexes in Vancouver are slated for “re-development”. These sites must remain in public hands and be developed in a way that leaves the existing communities intact and ensures that any re-development consists of affordable homes (geared to income).
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Comments
At Little Mountain, the BC Govt has auctioned off their legacy for a quick buck. It fills their coffers so they don't have to spend any real budget funds on social housing. But make no mistake, they are selling off an appreciating asset (land) for a depreciating asset (social housing buildings that they say they will build elsewhere). Think about that for a bit.
I'm all for urban renewal, but SMART renewal that benefits everyone - not just developers - and doesn't screw the taxpayer in the end.
Finally, on Remembrance Day we might want to think what our fathers and grandfathers built for us after wartime, even if it was as prosaic as a social safety net.
David