To begin with we moved to Squamish in 1979. Our move here was for a job at Woodfibre. We bought a lot and built our house, nothing fancy but still our home. The wages were not high but we managed to raise two boys and we worked through the rough times.
Through the years Squamish changed, some for the better and some for the worse. The big change started when all the industry started to move or close. Mine was in 2006 when Woodfibre closed. The new generation loved that.
The town still was not growing, people either moved or worked out of town. I got a job building our highway. Good job, but I now look back and see this is when the big change started.
Now Squamish has opened up to the people from Vancouver. Sell high and buy cheap.
The building boom started and the new words “high density” became the norm.
Now I will get to the problem – the new people were starting their families and guess what? There’s not enough child care. So, someone decides to amend a bylaw and change it so that home daycares can take in 16 children, up from eight.
This landed one next door to us. There was no notification and I had to find out through a friend on Facebook. You see, by now you can figure out that, yes, I retired and have to put up with screaming and, at times, crying children. We cannot even open our windows to enjoy a breeze.
I have a problem with our council. What gives you the right to give someone a business licence that would affect the lifestyle of a neighbour without even giving us an input? We worked hard for our house and the ability to retire with some respect. Well, you took that away from us.
I did go to the municipal hall and asked what my rights are. Basically, none or the same as theirs. And any problems would become a civil matter.
Now I heard about the good neighbour booklet, I found it and read it. It stared to read like a children’s book. At no time did it touch on what we should do when it was Squamish council that created the problem.
I have looked into this matter and have written to the council to request a sit down. Changes need to be put in. We will see.
