Former Yellowknife North MLA Rylund Johnson has penned a letter in support of residential development in the city’s Willow Flats neighbourhood.
Johnson shared the letter, which he sent to the City of Yellowknife’s mayor and council, on his Facebook page on July 4.
He argued developing housing in the area will help give more people a chance at home ownership in a city struggling with high rents, high home costs, and increasing levels of homelessness.
“You don’t need me to tell you that Yellowknife is in a housing crisis. The city is in urgent need of land for development to provide adequate housing for our residents. We are nowhere close to addressing the scale of this crisis,” he wrote.
“For years, the city has failed to bring enough land to market. We’ve failed to house our people and failed to build at the scale required.”
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The area up for proposed rezoning from parks and recreation to light residential intensification – half of the Lundquist cul-de-sac and a section of School Draw Avenue across from Rotary Park – falls within the Yellowknife North electoral district. Johnson represented the district in the 19th NWT Legislative Assembly before he decided not to run for re-election in the 2023 territorial election.
Johnson, who then served an 18-month term as a lawyer for the city after leaving territorial politics, said in his letter that public housing has not been treated as a priority.
“We also need private investment. We need developers – especially local developers – who are ready to build. This parcel of land offers both an opportunity for new housing and for a new generation of local builders to invest in their own community,” he wrote.
Johnson said he’s spoken with people excited to build on the land in question, people considering spending their savings on construction despite knowing the investment may not offer high returns.
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He believes a ballot draw for the land will be highly competitive and a sign that people want to “help solve the housing crisis.”
The city’s decision to consider rezoning the area has received significant backlash from people who want to see it remain a protected green space.
“I would argue that the reasons people cite against development here – its desirability, proximity to green space, and location – are exactly why this land should be developed,” Johnson countered.
“This is an opportunity to show that the city is willing to make the difficult, necessary choices to address our housing crisis.”
The city originally requested comments on the proposed rezoning of the area by June 27, but later extended that deadline to July 4.
The next step in the decision-making process for the land is a public hearing – the date for which has not yet been set – as well as the publication of a planning report, which will include a summary of public comments.
