You are hereBlogs / Mike's blog / TAPC... Southlands....and Process
TAPC... Southlands....and Process
To suggest that there is not a due process in place for a Southlands development plan is wrong.
Some recent letters and commentary in this newspaper regarding the Tsawwassen Area Plan Committee suggest that there is something fishy going on, or that the idea of democracy is somehow being compromised.
To call out a Delta staff member as was the case in this past Wednesday’s Optimist “Community Comment”, and suggest that his previous experience in another municipality can be used as a gauge here, is irresponsible.
In Delta, the Official Community Plan is a living document and has been many years in the making. The Tsawwassen component is what is being dealt with today.
There was also a suggestion this week that somehow Sean Hodgins has a hand in influencing the current process. Skeptic or not, that is a broad and unsubstantiated assumption that reflects poorly on an engagement that is not even officially underway between a private property owner, his community and the municipal government.
Perpetuating the idea of conspiracy does little to acknowledge the good progress that has been made thus far.
The TAPC was struck to analyze several aspects of planning for our evolution in this town. Clearly, the Southlands needs to be on the radar screen in this planning. It touches on all of the elements that the TAPC is discussing.
Traffic, town centre services, housing choice, density zoning and agriculture are all intertwined in a complex social web that will not be easily untangled.
The TAPC has a job to listen to the people and submit their observations to municipal staff. The first submission was the “ideas document”. This latest round of forums will address the document itself and presumably fill in any holes or elaborate on new ideas.
When it is time, the TAPC will again submit to staff and council and then, if the application is still in play, the real process will begin.
Some have suggested that the community has already spoken. This is far from the truth. At one TAPC event last October, approximately 65% of 600 attendees voted no to any development of the Southlands via a written submission.
This ”no vote” amounts to less than one half of one percent of Delta’s population. Even if you broke down the result to those of voting age and to those who live in Tsawwassen only, the resultant numbers are too miniscule to adequately represent real public sentiment.
Like it or not, the process will unfold as it should and will ultimately go through a public hearing before council makes any decision on any development plan that is submitted.
As far as drawing a line to “support the agricultural community” goes, ask the Delta Farmers Institute how they feel about farming the Southlands.
The “line” that has been drawn is a big part of the problem. The agricultural edge is either a fence or a ditch but it clearly says I live here and you farm there.
The working development plan for the Southlands - in reality a vision for a community based around agriculture - puts small human scale agriculture back in to the community and will help to educate new generations of farmers while concurrently adding amenity and much needed housing choice in Tsawwassen.
- Mike's blog
- 189 reads
Huh?
That was fun! Wow.....the majority of the spokespeople for the break-out groups expressed dismay at the questionnaire that was circulated. Many of the same were confused by the difference between the ALR and agricultural zoning. Still many others failed to understand what an agricultural "edge"is.
Reports of a process that is happening too fast still prevail.
To me, the process is being hi-jacked by a surprising number of people that we can spend as much time on this (delay) as possible. I don't recall seeing these folks at the Charrette in May 2008.
There has been plenty of opportunity to speak and considering there is not even a re-zoning application in place...there will be plenty more.
I am dumfounded by the amount of uniformed people in our town. Is this by design?
By the way...what would the "public opinion" question be?
How about a starter question?....Can you read and write?
Interesting that there was a presentation re flooding in the Southlands yet many of the opponents of the development actually live in Boundary Bay and a couple right on the beach.
Until these folks put for sale signs up in front of their home I am not buying their brittle argument one bit.
I attended the Southlands information meeting organized by the"No " contingent this past Monday
I was quite embarrassed and felt sorry for the mob crowd who, as it turns out, doesn't even recognize that there is not even a zoning application in place for the Southlands.
All of this hype about having a voice, due process and lack of democracy is horribly misplaced in the current timeline. I especially felt for Dana and Greg who hosted the event. Either they were given poor information and got sucked in by the usual crew or didn't undertake the due diligence to make the claims they did. Either way....a joke really. But that's just me.
Post new comment