Duncan - I read today of North Cowichan Councillor Al Siebring's thoughts on disposing of the Beverly Street land which was originally considered for the new RCMP station site and which has since been passed over in favour of the Ford Road location.
I agree with Councillor Marsh that we need to go slowly on this. We now have an opportunity to use this land for something much more valuable.It has been well documented that the more we urbanize and increase density of areas, the more we demand green space within it. It not only increases our quality of life but also increases the overall value of the urban areas surrounding it.Stanley Park, New York's Central Park, Burnaby Lakes and Port Moody's Inlet park are just some examples of planning done right.We too can do that. I urge council to maintain this land as green space...urban renewal doesn't mean we need to sell every parcel of land for development. If it is sold or "disposed" of (a word I personally dislike as it implies this is now simply surplus land that holds no value to anyone other than a developer) we will likely end up with yet another version of the commercial/residential infill one can find anywhere from Red Deer to Surrey. Let's take this opportunity to do our village plan right and make this unique green space along with the adjoining Somenos Marsh lands the heart and soul of our community.Gary FitzgibbonDuncan