59 affordable housing units - the modules for which have been in storage at a cost of $70,000 a month for the past two years (cost to taxpayers) - held ransom by a wealthy ratepayers group who did not feel that the affordable housing was for the 'right' type of people. Terrible - watch the clip below, they don't even hide this abhorrent position! Why do we give these outliers with big bags of cash in their hands so much power in the planning process? You tell me this isn't a deeply broken system, literally resulting in our neighbours out on the street. Easy fix for someone with a bit of political power and political will: eliminate the right to appeal affordable housing. This will 1) reduce the risk of rising costs for affordable housing developments, which is a crazy disincentive to going into this field, 2) further incentivize existing developers to tackle affordable housing, given the hassle and cost and heartache of appeals will vanish. I guarantee that eliminating the right to appeal affordable housing will result in more affordable housing that gets built more quickly. I guarantee it, because I am doing it.