In his LTE to the Tidings (9/16/17), Dave Kanner suggests converting Briscoe School into affordable housing units and offers some rather interesting and telling reasons why. True, it is conveniently located near public transportation and Helman School, which he rightly points out. But then his argument deteriorates into sarcastic cynicism: “No cottonwood trees would have to be cut down” and “The entertainment value of the excuses the neighbors will come up with for why affordable housing shouldn’t be built in their backyard will be off the charts!”
In that same spirit of cynicism and sarcasm, let me point out that Mr. Kanner already has his McMansion in Ashland worth just south of $600,000, so apparently the rest of us should just get over it when it comes to the affordable housing crisis in Ashland. He paid for his home serving as City Administrator with a $240,000 yearly salary including benefits, compensation rivaling that of United States senators. And why worry about 100+ year-old landmark trees in our town? They can always be torn down and regrown―with time.
Chronicle Staff
