Re: the article on the survey on secondary suites that included the quote: “Oak Bay has never been affordable and should be kept that way.” That quote in the June 14 Oak Bay News is both erroneous and pompous.
My parents purchased their house in 1949 and it was paid off in five years. My father was a salesman for Standard Furniture and my mother was a registered nurse.
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In 1978 I bought a house in Oak Bay for $44,000. By 1982 the value had risen to $110,000. My neighbours were a social mix. I remember one was a postman and one a municipal worker.
Of course there are many palatial homes in Oak Bay, but that is true of all municipalities.
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Prices did not really take off until the late ‘80s. The escalating rise in prices is due to circumstances beyond our control.
Secondary suites, properly conceived, are perhaps a way to mitigate the issue.
Ian Baird
Oak Bay
