Support affordable living at The Downs

To the editor,

My husband and I chose to raise our daughter in Scarborough for the same reasons most families do — the top-rated school system, the four beaches, the trail system, and the large, private residential lots that most families enjoy. Over the years, we’ve lived in two different single-family houses in Scarborough on large 3+ acre lots. When we separated, we shared a strong desire to keep our daughter in school in town with her friends to minimize any disruption to her life. It took me over 7 months to find a smaller, more affordable place for my daughter and I, and there were many points when I thought it just wouldn’t happen and we’d have to move out of town. Scarborough cannot continue to be a town that only offers one housing type as it is not reflective of the community at-large. Single parents, empty-nesters and millennials should have the ability to afford living in Scarborough — as we all know it’s a wonderful place to live. We need to continue supporting the work The Downs and other developers have started to shift the mix of housing away from single family homes to serve a wider variety of demographics. Single family homes are expensive for the municipality to serve and they overburden our schools on top of it.

Jennifer Polisher
Scarborough