Gone too far down the path
Open letter to Summerland mayor and council:
I attended the Council meeting Monday night and am compelled to write to you regarding the proposed development at Banks Crescent.
As you continue to direct staff to study the Banks Crescent Project, you are perceived to be (perhaps unwittingly) supporting it.
These studies are not cheap, and the more that are required, the more invested the developer becomes and the harder it is to deny them. As one of the councilors said Monday night on another issue, “have we gone too far down this path?”
I sincerely hope that this does not become the case for Banks Crescent. I know that the standard reply to this concern is that staff has a responsibility to give the application due consideration. How much consideration is enough? What about the responsibility to current residents of the area?
What about the responsibility of aligning this application against the current Official Community Plan, Lower Town Plan, Cultural Plan that were prepared by residents with their vision of Summerland. What about the responsibility to respecting the new “Green” initiatives that are being embraced by council. Although you say otherwise, it truly looks to a lot of us that you are siding with the developers and not with your own residents.
The other observation from last night was the significant decline in attendance by the folks that form Summerlanders for Sensible Development I can tell you that this is not because of complicity or complacency. In fact, people can’t come to these meetings because it is so upsetting to them to see this development being pushed ahead. We are literally sick over this. This development is a real threat to us, to our homes and to our right to live in peace. The proposed project is just too big and the density too great for this small area and the change it will bring is just too drastic for many of us to cope with. Imagine 600 more people on your street. Please reconsider encouraging more studies. You have a lot of information and a lot of public input; how much more do you need?
Please do not allow this huge development in our backyard. Rita Connacher Summerland