‘

‘Suite owners are not
greedy entrepreneurs’

Dear Editor:

Please allow me to make some comments regarding
illegal suites. I own one of these, and for obvious
reasons I would prefer to keep my anonymity.

Firstly, let me say that I find the term “‘illegal’’ to
be objectionable. For a simple case of zoning (or lack
thereof), to paint one as outside of the law seems to
be onerous and uncaring.

Suite owners are not greedy entrepreneurs trying to
milk the market, at least not all are. -

Many of us provide off-street parking for our te-
nants, as I do, and cause no parking problems for our
neighbors. Actually, my tenant does not even have a
car, which may not be uncommon for suite tenants,
yet the family across the street from us has visitors br-
inging an extra four-plus cars at least weekly and

_ they park in front of my home.

We pay for additional phone, hydro and gas used.
Yes, we get a deal on water, my tenant probably uses

an additional $3 of water per year and we get it for-

free. :

Not all tenants are noisy. In fact, my neighbors
don’t know that I have a tenant (maybe even a suite).

My tenant lives in a separate portion of my house, a
lifestyle that she prefers and which affords her the
privacy and security that we’all desire. 1, on the other
hand, could not afford to’live in this area, with my
family, without the financial help from my tenant.

Are you. who are opposed to this relationship, also
opposed to two or three (or four or more) single men,
or women, sharing a house. Surely, they do not coi-
stitute, a family,,even in today’s en ightened society.
Would you force them to move? What if one of them
owned the house or was an alderman? ~

;

LAKES, STRAITH & RODGERS |

Real Estate
Wills and Estates
Corporate Law
Commercial Law ;
- 1217 Lonsdale Ave., North Vancouver

#202

“Dear Editor:

It has come to my attention that
a: ‘major!:decision: is* soon to’ -be ,
made concerning ‘the cantent‘of the ~
FM stereo band. carried by cable.

: These ‘changes : are required to be
‘made . by. ‘the::cable company in -
compliance with the recent CRTC
rulings enforcing the. carrying of
‘local AM signals.on the FM stereo
Lband. As a result, the number of
FM stations carried by the cable
company will increase to some 41,
of which some 37 will be Tock or
“country stations.

"Other changes are to be made to
the content of the FM stereo band
at the same time. As there is no
public input required by law as to
which additional stations are to be. |
carried, the decision is somewhat ©
arbitrarily made by the primary
cable company, Rogers.

| am writing to ask your readers
to lobby Rogers to carry station
KPLU, Tacoma. This is a public
broadcast © service supported by
subscription and carries 24 hours
stereo jazz. The music is straight
ahead melodic jazz.

Shaw has no meaningful input
into this decision as the companies
involved are represented propor-
tionately to the audience they serve
and Rogers is by far the largest,
carrying some 70 per cent of the
vote.

KPLU is already carried by
Rogers in Victoria and the effect
of increased public awareness of
acoustic music via this station has
been reflected in the upsurge of the
local economy via the opening of
three jazz clubs, numerous hotel
lounge groups, and the establish-
ment of an annual multi-million
dollar jazz festival.

Please contact Frank Eberdt or
Marie Schneider at Rogers Cable
and lend your support.

Graham Milne
North Vancouver

\, 987-3431

648 Queensbury Ave., N. Van.

I live in my own home. As long as we offend no-
one and cause no disturbances, I should be allowed to
house whoever I wish.

There is an active market for this service because
municipal governments and property developers have
a vested interest in keeping the costs and sizes of new
homes high. This effectively, and severely, restricts
the supply of inexpensive housing, thereby creating
the demand and, by making new houses expensive,
causes new homeowners to search for alternate means
to help them afford their own homes, thereby creating
the supply. Now would you persecute us for logically
falling into a well-set trap?

If you close down the suites, where will the tenants
go? If I cannot afford my mortgage and have to sell,
as would many others, so many, we would drive the

value of all property down, not just our own. Then,

where will we live? Eliminating suites solves very little
and-most implied problems, but would create many
and very real problems.

There appears to be a genuine concern that many
suites give substandard accommodation. Perhaps this
is true. I suggest that a licence and annual inspection
system would solve this without having to resort to
Gestapo or KGB tactics. A reasonable licence, of say
$“0 to $100 per year would be acceptable to me, and
would pay for the inspections necessary to ensure
adequate lodgings.

This would also give the tenants protection, as they
could complain to the municipality who could force
‘closure of a suite that did not bring accommedations
up to. standard.

Name ‘Withheld On Request

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7 - Sunday, April 12, 1987 - North Shore News

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