Bell McKinnon residents feel ripped off by moratorium proposal
Regarding Bev Suderman’s letter re: building public trust.
Bev Suderman suggests that Councillor Justice’s development moratorium will build “trust”.
As I go door to door to door to door in my neighbourhood, the residents of the Bell McKinnon corridor feel very differently. I hear words like: “ripped off”, “lied to”, “manipulated”, “pissed off” and “angry”.
Quite the opposite of building trust, the Justice motion is a complete breach of public trust — by ripping up the award winning Local Area Plan, the motion steals our quiet community away from us and condemns us to live beside the new CDH hospital without any option but to sell at greatly reduced values. “How can we ever trust council or planners again?” is what one resident told me last night.
To anyone who will listen with an open mind: the families and workers of the Valley who are opposing this motion are NOT the enemy. The enemy here is poorly developed and dogmatic policy that is polarizing the community. Anyone who objectively considers the stated goals of the moratorium will quickly realize the policy is in conflict with its own goals.
Case in point — the motion suggests that development in Kingsview must be stopped because it promotes sprawl and greenhouse gases. In fact, development of a commercial centre in Kingsview will reduce travel times for all Kingsview’s existing residents and thus reduce GHGs. It’s simple math.
As a Bell McKinnon Road resident and a supporter of balanced, sustainable growth I am encouraging council to defeat this motion so a more balanced policy can be developed with better acknowledgment of our community.
Dave Jackson
North Cowichan