Make suites citywide

Re: “Open door to secondary suites,” Editorial, Sept. 16.

We need more affordable housing in this city. I am not fundamentally against the idea of secondary suites. However, I am vehemently opposed to them being allowed in some parts of this city and not others.

It appears the mayor and several inner- city aldermen propose allowing secondary suites in central wards only. This is completely unfair to the residents of the inner city. The increased parking and traffic congestion in these neighbourhoods will negatively affect lifestyle.

Property values could potentially decline in neighbourhoods that allow secondary suites if they are not allowed citywide. If they were allowed throughout the city, I don’t believe this would be a problem. Nobody is going to avoid moving to Calgary because there are secondary suites throughout the city.

However, someone just might avoid a neighbourhood which allows them if they have the option of buying in a nearby neighbourhood that does not.

Are inner- city aldermen trying to be ideological martyrs, volunteering their wards to secondary suites, but not insisting all wards buy in to this? I don’t get it.

Distributing secondary suites citywide would help the housing problem, and would fairly dilute the impact. They should be allowed citywide, or not at all.

Chris Sims, Calgary