It was with a sigh of relief and a noteworthy “good job” that I read in this newspaper of the decision by the council of North Cowichan to take a second look at the rezoning of the land at Berkey’s Corner.
The rezoning from residential to commercial had been opposed by a large majority of the very area residents whose lives were supposedly going to be “improved” by the rezoning.
The immediate neighbours, whose property borders the land in question, are very concerned about many aspects of the proposed development should rezoning occur. Some of these are the same neighbours that bought their homes after having done their due diligence in regards to the zoning of that parcel of land and seeing it zoned residential, went ahead and bought their family homes.
The rest of us in the valley can only imagine what that must feel like, to think that with a simple raising of council hands, these same homes, these same lives, these same families believed it would have a negative impact on them and there was nothing they could do about it.
The largest concern of the neighbourhood was the prospect of a drive-through coffee shop and the impact of many, many idling cars on their health and enjoyment of their home and yards.
Recently, North Cowichan council had a presentation by a senior environmental analyst and our medical health officer talking about the high rate of respiratory illnesses suffered by people in our region and one of the factors that contribute to that is idling vehicles.
I applaud this decision by council to revisit this rezoning proposal and congratulate all of the caring people who made it happen — apparently, it is truly never too late to do the right thing.
Katherine Barwick
North Cowichan