Dear Editor,
This proposed new policy [Willoughby arterial road amenity policy] is designed to penalize Willoughby land owners, which collectively own a minute amount of land (1,400 acres) in comparison to the whole Township (which is 119 square miles).
Many Township residents (118,000 total residents) utilize the roads through Willoughby.
Anyone in Langley who travels from Langley, north through Willoughby to Walnut Grove, are all taxpayers using those roads.
To impose a fee of $63,000 per acre of develop-able land (1,400 acres) in Willoughby is a huge financial burden to a relatively small number of landowners.
The mom and pop landowners will take a huge hit if they try to sell their land, as the developers will take at least $63,000 per acre more off what they are willing to pay for land.
It certainly won’t make housing prices more affordable.
Recently, as well, all the other fees for developing land have gone up more than 100 per cent. Who will ultimately pay for all those increases? The new homeowner.
Why not share this newly proposed financial burden throughout all of the Township. It would amount to a small increase in taxes for all, but it could help finish roads that are designed for and used by most residents of the Township.
How about some democracy?
Are the Township councillors, Eric Woodward specifically, trying to propose that property owners of a mere 1,400 acres carry the whole financial burden to finish some of the roads in Willoughby?
Then the very landowners that paid should be the only ones allowed to use that portion of road for which they personally paid. Are we looking at private gated portions of the roads?
Is Eric Woodward looking for privately funded and owned roads in the Township?
Where will that stop? Private funding for everything, coming out of individual property owners pockets, depending where you live?
G. Lambert, Langley Township
