Editor:
Peter White opposes the Southlands development and he is entitled to do so. However, rather than berating Joyce Schmidt, a Ladner resident (formerly from Tsawwassen), for her support of the Southlands, we should be asking her why she left Tsawwassen?
In trying to downsize, could she not find the housing type she wanted? Did she move closer to her children who could not afford it here? We lose a lot of people because of a lack of housing options, a lack of employment and a lack of services, which results in the closure of businesses, empty storefronts, school closures and a lack of entertainment options.
Retaining these people is how a community survives. The unsustainability and stagnation of Tsawwassen for the past 20 years is a direct result of White's kind of thinking and is the reason the development and revitalization proposed by Century Group is not only warranted, but is necessary.
Tsawwassen, Ladner and North Delta are part of Delta, whether White likes it or not. Tsawwassen and Ladner cannot exist without the other as each has goods and services relied upon by all residents of South Delta.
This proposal affects all of Delta in that it will receive 80 per cent of the land which will become, in large part, a community-based farm and recreation site, will provide much needed housing variety for both the young and old, and an increased tax base to Delta. Sixty percent of business owners support the proposal as they know it is critical for their survival.
More weight should be given to a single, well thought out letter from a courageous Ladner resident than to eight names from a single household in Tsawwassen (including children and pets in some cases) or names from as far away as India on an online petition opposing the proposal, a common, desperate poll-stuffing technique used by opponents.
Douglas Bolen
