Respect character, history

Re: Where goes the neighbourhood?, Oct. 19.

I have lived in Sandy Hill for 25 years and have become very frustrated by the degradation of the historic and vibrant community. In any other Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development capital city, a neighbourhood with such architectural character and national historic interest would be celebrated and protected.

Yet in Ottawa, it is being destroyed by developers after a quick buck with the complicity of the city, the University of Ottawa and the province.

The city has arcane bylaws and zoning regulations that have allowed beautiful historic homes to be turned into ugly bunkhouses — housing upwards of 30 students — that overshadow nearby homes. The university hasn’t built on-campus residences in years (apparently they are considering it, but might prefer to build more classrooms instead). The increasing numbers of students are forced to find their own — too often, substandard, yet expensive — off-campus housing. The university residences can’t even hold the first-year students — a feature most universities offer.

And where is the province in all of this?

They are allowing the university to shirk its responsibility to be a good neighbour and dump its housing problem on Sandy Hill. They are allowing the city to ignore provincial planning guidelines that require municipalities to respect local neighbourhoods’ character and history in their planning decisions.

DIANE BECKETT,

Ottawa