Dear Editor: ! As owner of Ridgewood Gardens, we would like to “take issue with Charles Mayer’s article, June 12, , felating to our application to the: District of North Van- couver for the strata-title conversion of our property. We would like to point out that the following points on the Article are either fac- tually incorrect or misleading: «The Article states that “most Ridgewood residents indicated to District officials they are dead. set against Strata- titling of this building.” < This statement is factually incorrect and would not have been made by Mr.. Mayer if he had thoroughly read the Staff Report prepared by The Social-Planning Department. There he will find that of the seven respondents to the Social Planner’s request for comments to our proposal, only a few had reservations. There Mr. Mayer will also find though buried in the Ap- pendix of the Staff Report. that we had majority written consents from 17 of the 28 tenants of our property. The Article reports that we “were trying to squeeze out old. existing tenants by jacking up rents to unaffor- dable levels “and that” rent was boosted 40%. Since Oc- tober . 1982... (the time we - started our conversions pro- gram) there have been 11 turnovers at Ridgewood Gardens. For your informa- tion, the reasons for the tur- novers are as follows: 1 tenant Left country 1 tenant Change of jobs 7tenants Purchased homes 1 tenant Renting home of friends I tenant Asked to leave Indeed, most of the rents have been increased 40% and more, in the three years since we owned the proper- ,ty. To start with, the rents were below market when we acquired Ridgewood 1980, as the property had been neglected and renova- tions were desperately re- quired. In the first two years of our ownership, we spent over $200,000.00 in renova- tions and upgrading. in a period when interest rates reached over 20% level. VHS & BETA in some cases even in: ranty depot for Hitach put you back Inthe picture. SIMPSON AUDIOVIDEO REPAIR LTD. 1350 Pemberton, North Van Now that our renovation program has been com- pleted, our rents are current- ly at market levels. Our rent schedule has been confirmed bya major appraiser in Van- couver. Furthermore, the ~ fact that we have yet to en- counter major difficulties in re-renting the eleven tur- novers is a’Cclear indication that we are charging what the market can bear, and no more. A 40% boost in three years might sound a lot. In 1980, when we acquired Ridgewood, the property tax was $14,846.86. A few days ago, we made a payment to City Hall for property tax in. the amount of $20,989.23: an increase of over 40% for providing the _same municipal services. As to the question of rental “afford- ability”, we believe this is a -question to be dealt with by the public sector. City Hall did not consult our “ability to pay” when they boosted the property tax assessment; and néither did the banks when they raised interest rates to over 20%. The Article suggest that our current rent is $1,500.00 per month. This is a factual error, aS we are not achiev- ing anything close to it. The Article reports that “current District policy governing strata conversion clearly states ‘that no apart- ments ‘will be allowed .to change to condominium Status as long as_ the municipality's vacancy rate is 3% or less.” For your in- formation, the District con- “a rescued Superman” ... lt wasjusta routine part of my day. eee You're anxiously watching your VCR. as: Superman Is about to leap over a buliding"in a single bound when ‘the Video Machine grindstoahalt.. _ What to do? Call Simpson. Audio-Video Repair. Wwe offer expert service on all brands at.a reasonable rate. We also service all stereo equipment. We're the authorized war- and Zenith. so give mea call — I Ho fa, w 3 md sidered in the spring of 1982 “See wildwater excitement you won’t forget for just . . $25. 00° the River Runners * $25.00 per person for one day trip. 885-6769 cananytime A7 = Sunday, July 24, 1983 - North Shore News and approved in July 1982, a strata conversion (i.e..Cedar- Crescent) when vacancy rates in April and. October were 1.2% and 1.4% respec- tively. Now, where do Coun- il stand.on this so-called “clearly stated” policy? The headline of the article reads’ as follows: “North Vancouver tenants relieved over strata rejection.” This headline is as misleading as the above four points. Your paper might like to depict our conversion application as another case of another unscrupulous landlord trying to take advantage of a group of helpless tenants. This is far from the truth, as the Grandma & Grai pa facts we have provided here The 1933 has.lo Ye would speak for themselves. Mans Dad! Sots ees 0 "been. many. This one-time landlord (as “Mo om & Dad! Daniel & Suzanna : fulate two le whi your paper liked to refer to We wish all the happiness congra ie io peop us in the Article), who in the world for both Sth Alappy sae A happy oath bought Ridgewood Gardens of you. t nniversa - as a rental investment and Love Always, ry Love Tammy Madsen who responded to certain tentants’ requests to provide them with an opportunity to own in Ridgewood Gardens, is proud of our management efforts with Ridgewood Gardens. Does it ever occur to the media that responsible landiords do exist? Is it too. much for a_ responsible landlord to ask your paper to. demonstrate your share. of responsibility by contacting, us, for confirmation or. denial, hefore your Article is put to press? - fa Your Daughters VANY LTD. R. Hueng INVESTMENTS 738-4849 | [Abuse selection o : GEORGE SIMPSON -WALKER DOOR rp. 1380 PEMBERTON ST. 985-9714 NORTH VANCOUVER . _ SALE PRICES NOT IN EFFECT AMLOOPS OR NANAIMO,