City cancels meeting on uptown subsidized housing project

Today, the city announced it was canceling the public meeting on the subsidized housing project that everyone is talking about.

Tannery Court plans to build a subsidized apartment complex at 185 Carmarthen St. At full capacity, the apartments will house 51 residents in one-bedroom apartments.

Residents are expected to be 20 to 50 years old, earning less than $20,000 a year. They will pay about 30 per cent of their incomes to live in the apartments and the province will cover the difference.

Opponents in the south end area say the development will concentrate too many low-income residents in an area that already faces a high poverty rate. They say the development will hamper the quality of life for all residents in the area, including those living in the apartments.

The city blames “community activists” opposed to the project for the cancellation.

The meeting was being organized to allow citizens to speak directly to the developer, Tannery Court Co-operative, about their concerns.  Their primary concern, from my point of view, is the lack of mixed-income housing.

The city’s argument is that the “community activists” are trying to hijack the meeting.

I think their argument is terrible.  The meetings that the city hosts (including the ward meetings) give people the ability to voice their concerns – and that is a good thing.  The Ward 3 Councillors would be wise to let the meeting go ahead, and to listen to what the citizens have to say.

More information is available on this Facebook group, and this blog.

Update: The group will now host it’s own meeting.  See this post for the details!