I don't think many were surprised when civic politicians voted Monday to allow Century Group's development plans for the Southlands to take the next step.
By no means is that to suggest approval for the multi-faceted proposal is in the bag, but it stood to reason this chapter of Tsawwassen's longest-running drama wasn't going to end this week given all that's taken place up until this point.
It should be noted the application must clear several more hurdles before any of those dump trucks start thundering down 56th Street, so I'm not sure too much should be read into the fact this incarnation of the proposal is still alive.
The directive from last year's Mayor's Summit was for Century Group president Sean Hodgins to revise an earlier proposal that never really saw the light of day. Hodgins did as he was told, cutting the number of housing units in half and increasing the amount of land being deeded to Delta, so for the last 18 months that application has worked its way through the system.
Opponents will theorize that Delta is just a little too chummy with Hodgins and the Century folks, so therefore the fix is already in. I readily admit there must be some level of support for Delta to have even requested a revised proposal and to commit civic resources to the extent that it has done so far.
However, I'm not convinced it's a done deal. If you're opposed to the development and taking a glass half-full approach, you could theorize that all the attention municipal hall is giving the application is to ensure that when it's defeated the developer will not be able to launch any legal action that contends he wasn't given due process.
OK, so maybe that's a stretch, but it should be remembered this is essentially the same group that was willing to put the property back into the Agricultural Land Reserve less than two years ago.
If the green shirts hadn't stepped up and prompted the mayor to pull the plug on that idea, the Agricultural Land Commission could well have decided the fate of the Southlands.
It almost seems ridiculous to suggest given that pretty much everything there is to say about the Southlands has already been said over the years, but my guess is that council members will want to hear from the public, in a formal hearing setting, before they make a decision this time around.
That means at least one more endorsement along the way, but doesn't guarantee that final, still elusive, approval is fait accompli.
