Re: City looks at fines for boarding houses, St. Albert Gazette, Wednesday, June 25.
While I was happy to see this article, I feel that, as a resident of Gould Place, I should state a few more facts.
I would have thought that the city might possibly have notified residents affected by this situation last summer. However, "a public hearing was opened and closed on Monday night with no public submissions." Maybe I don't know where to look, but had I been aware of this hearing, you can guarantee I would have been there to voice my concerns and absolute disgust with the way the city and its elected officials handled this situation.
For those council members who are unsure about the definition of a boarding house, let's break it down for you. In a matter of weeks, we had over 30 people living in a three bedroom, three bathroom home. That's double the population of our cul-de-sac in one house. We had over 17 vehicles associated with this one house, again more than double than what's owned in the neighbourhood. They had a paid cook and maid. There were so many issues regarding noise, traffic, and safety! According to health inspectors, there were rows upon rows of air mattresses on the floors. We would have been just fine with the four renters we were told by the homeowner that were moving in, just like city council questioning four university students. It's when it gets to the extreme volumes like we saw last summer that it becomes a problem.
Thank you to councillors Wes Brodhead and Sheena Hughes for standing up for Gould residents. They were some of the few who took the time to come and speak to us last summer and witnessed what we were living with. As for Mr. Crouse, I am not surprised he voted against unanimous consent to the bylaw. He and others were huge disappointments to their tax (and salary) paying residents last summer and continue to be. And to Mr. Osborne, if you had this next door to your family, in the community you take so much pride in, would your biggest concern be that it wasn't posted on the website? Wake up city officials ... do something for the good of this city and protecting its residents, rather than your own personal agendas, and get this third reading voted through.
Shelley Robinson, St. Albert
