When there’s complaining to be done in Delta, it almost always happens in South Delta — just not this time.
When Delta put forth a proposal last year to become a city, 1,450 people in South Delta objected to the idea while just 56 in North Delta did the same. Civic politicians approved a 37-storey high-rise and are now entertaining a proposal for another skyscraper in North Delta while in Tsawwassen they sent a developer back to the drawing board after the possible construction of six-storey building in the town centre offended community sensibilities.
When it comes to an overhaul of Delta’s 40-year-old zoning legislation, however, North Delta is all ears whereas South Delta has met the undertaking with a collective yawn. In a complete reversal from last year’s city debate, North Deltans filled out 1,559 questionnaires on the proposed zoning changes while those in South Delta completed just 48.
It seems that house and lot size, as well as secondary suites, are very much hot button issues in North Delta yet they’re not really moving the needle down here. Delta council has a public hearing scheduled for city hall later this month to hear from anyone with concerns about the new regulations, but it might have been more convenient to hold the session somewhere in North Delta.
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Should Gateway’s proposed Ladner casino be given the green light by Delta later this year, the city would soon have to figure out how it would spend its share of the profits, which I figure will be in the neighbourhood of $5 million annually.
Delta will almost certainly use the cash for capital ventures so as not to jeopardize any ongoing programs should, for any reason, funding levels drop or dry up entirely, which means a whole bunch of projects could soon be getting in line for a slice of the pie.
Given the tennis bubble at the Delta Town & Country Inn would become a casualty of casino redevelopment, and given the Bayside Squash Club recently lost the battle to a couple of new waterfront homes, I wonder if Delta would consider showing the local racquet sports community some love should it be in a position to start doling out gaming revenues. Just a thought.
