Vernon Taxpayer Association Questions of July 14 on HESPERIA Land Development

Taxpayers of Vernon are deeply concerned at the secretive operational style of the Hesperia Development Corporation. The City of Vernon owns 100/" of the shares in the Corporation meaning that the shares are legally held by the taxpayers and yet:
1. There is no decision on whether the City will continue to own the land after development and what part the City will play in the development of both the 'attainable housing' and the market housing. To date - 125 units are listed as attainable and 875 units are listed as
market housing
2. There is no public input or public hearings on the actual business plan for the Hesperia Development or the workings of the Hesperia Development Corporation. The only public hearing will concern the rezoning in the tall, too late to influence the planning.
3. There is no revelation of the true market value of the taxpayers' 69 acres of land that has been transferred to this the Hesperia Development Corporation. lf there is a certified appraisal, it has not been made public, What can you get for a family for $870/month??!!
4. There is no information as to what the taxpayers will be spending to subsidize the 125 units of 'attainable housing'; also there is no clear definition of what 'attainable housing' means in the context of this development.
Definition of Attainable Housing:
According to the CMHC definition, is households are in the core housing need if they cannot find somewhere to live that is in reasonably good condition and is big enough for their household without spending more than 30% of their gross income. An acceptable benchmark of affordability is thirty percent of the median household income, $34,793 per year or roughly $15.00 per hour; therefore housing costs should not exceed $870 per month."
5. What safeguards are in place to ensure that all profits accrued by this corporation will be audited and returned to the city coffers. We request a transparent and viable business plan.
6. ls the city of Vernon to be the sole beneficiary of these profits and if so what are the proposals we taxpayers are given to consider? Taxpayers are deeply concerned about the use of our tax dollars to pay' directors' fees', planners' fees, development costs, project manager's fees, etc. without any transparency or accountability. As shareholders the taxpayers of Vernon are entitled to full disclosure as required by law.

We, the Citizens of Vernon, demand:
1. The market research and business plan that proves this development is a needed, viable and profitable operation to the Citizens of Vernon;
2. A compilation of the input that was provided at the one and only public meeting in May 2008;
3. As shareholders, the reports submitted to Council by the Corporation and minutes of its meetings;
4. The impact studies relating to the quality and quantity of the water supply;
5. The financial impact on Vernon taxpayers;
6. To know if the Corporation will be making money on the sale or lease of lots and/or housing;
7. To know whether the project will be contracted out by the bidding process or will it be given to one contractor;
8. Full disclosure and transparency on all the business conducted within this Corporation ;
9. To know who appointed the Directors of this Corporation, on what basis and why do we have realtors and developers and people who don't live in Vernon running our real estate projects;
10. To know why a citizen was told by Councilor Cunningham, "There are no options on development, just public input into some of the details";
11. To know why this project is supported by Council when it flies in the face of the Official Community Plan and the anti-sprawl sentiment within the Vernon Community and the Okanagan Valley as a whole;
12. That public meetings be arranged and held immediately to clarify the covert nature of this enterprise.