Surrey - The Editor, Re: "Actual usage should determine suite fees," the Now letters, Feb. 18.
I love Surrey. I love my community. I believe that we all should share equally in the responsibility of paying for infrastructure through our taxes that are already being collected. So what about the ones spitting in the face of the city bylaws, trying to beat the system by renting out multiple suites illegally? Intentionally renting out multiple suites - this can only be looked at as a parasitic act. What is the definition of a parasite? Webster's dictionary describes it as "an organism that lives in or on another organism (its host) and benefits by deriving nutrients at the host's expense."
The landowners who are knowingly renting out numerous suites without declaring them are helping themselves to this money without regard or responsibility to their community. They are using the services of Surrey without helping share the onus of paying for them. This is a parasitic act on the City of Surrey. It's a drain on resources because there isn't the tax base to support it.
Thank you Surrey for taking a step forward in addressing this issue by sending out the secondary suite declaration form. This form was due on the first of February. I wonder how many people actually filled these out and what Surrey will do with this information. If it just sits on someone's desk, we will be no further ahead.
Shauna R
Surrey