Ambleside By The Sea

 

The District would like to revitalize our village to create a more vibrant high street. From this corner of 13th and Marine, the downtown core of the village would extend up to 18th and include both Bellevue and Clyde within its boundaries. To establish this walkable, exciting shopping and entertainment area, the District needs to gently increase density in Ambleside in order to create enough patronage for new downtown businesses. One way to achieve this is by re-zoning single family property so that more townhouse complexes and mid rise apartments could be built over time. This, however, may result in driving low income seniors out of the area.   

The statistics on the surface look alarming. According to the last  census Ambleside had 7,500 residents with over half living in single person households.  

About half of the people in Ambleside are over sixty-five years of age and about one quarter of the people in Ambleside make less than $30,000, three-quarters of the people make less than $50,000. 

We are often accused of being the richest postal code in Canada. Many of the seniors may have annuities and other tax havens. The income that shows up on their tax returns may be only a portion of their actual income. However there may be many seniors renting homes (almost 50% of Ambleside residents are renters), who may be forced out of the area due to new higher rents. 

I believe that Ambleside could create an attractive business area and Seniors could remain in their homes. It doesn't have to be an either/or situation. The District needs to take care of rezoning Ambleside and the Provincial Government needs to protect low income Senior Citizens. This could be done through the existing rental subsidy. Using both an income and a means test, people who need this support could age in place comfortably knowing that rent increases would not force them to move.

If there were a number of NORC committees established in those apartment buildings in Ambleside with a majority of older people, they could come together and approach the Provincial Government to make this possible. We are fast becoming a very large demographic.