This is regarding the hot topic of the moment, affordable housing. I have worked in the construction industry for over 30 years and have seen immeasurable changes to the building codes, largely due to the impending earthquake on our doorstep.
These changes have added huge timelines and costs to the price of building homes, which of course get passed down to the buyer and in turn the renter. I question the necessity of these changes at the cost of homelessness. I don’t suggest we should risk people’s lives in substandard construction. But the majority of older homes in the city were built before the changes and if the impending earthquake doesn’t arrive in the next 100 years most of these newer builds will have been demolished for newer construction anyway.
The wealthy can use the newer codes for their lavish homes but can’t we build rental units quicker and cheaper because those who are forced to be evicted from their homes for the newer developments are living in homes not built to withstand earthquakes?
Darren Gilby
Saanich