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Final chapter has finally been written on the Southlands

Well, it's finally done. The Southlands proposal received approval by the Metro Vancouver board last Friday, ending any further roadblocks to the development. Delta council will give it a final rubber stamp, and the project will get underway.

Well, it's finally done. The Southlands proposal received approval by the Metro Vancouver board last Friday, ending any further roadblocks to the development. Delta council will give it a final rubber stamp, and the project will get underway.

I have to admit, Friday's vote was a bit of a surprise. I thought that after Metro received feedback from TransLink saying it didn't support the development from a transportation standpoint, that might change things.

TransLink's letter stated, "It appears likely that Southlands will move the region farther away from the goals and targets set out in the (regional transportation strategy), ultimately making those goals and targets more challenging to achieve in the long term." Apparently, that didn't matter.

I thought that after Metro Vancouver staff recommended against the proposal that might change things.

They recognized the development had limitations based on the Regional Growth Strategy in a number of areas, not just losing agricultural land or the precedent it would set.

Quoting from the staff report, "When considered through the regional lens, staff 's professional opinion is that on balance, despite the fact that Delta's amendment request is to accommodate an innovative development application with many community benefits, there is not a sufficiently compelling reason to support the proposed amendment." That didn't seem to matter, either.

I read through the letters received by other cities and municipalities, most of which said they had no objections. Maybe it's just government verbiage, but I didn't see any say they supported it, only that it didn't have an impact on their constituents.

The feedback from the public hearing Metro held was consistent with all of the feedback that had been received before from the public. When asked, through a couple of surveys, public hearings and letters to council, the message typically came back that two-thirds of people were opposed to the proposal. For the Metro Vancouver public hearing, 78 per cent were opposed.

Oh. And when it came time for the vote, which required a two-thirds majority, three board members were absent, representing 12 votes. The most important issue we have faced in South Delta in decades, and they didn't show up to be counted. Had they voted no, it would have been very close.

OK, I'm disappointed, not because it was approved, but because of how it was approved. Maybe the powers that be are smarter than most of us, maybe they know something the rest of us don't. If that's the case, and I'm sure it is sometimes, at least let me know that you heard my voice and the voices of so many others who spoke.

I can handle a decision I don't agree with, as long as I feel my concerns were heard and considered. You did ask, after all.

I read a tweet last Friday that said "collaborative community planning at its best." If that were true, I'd hate to see it when it doesn't go so well.

Regardless, it's done; there is no more uncertainty. We won't know the true outcome for some time, but the South Fraser Perimeter Road wasn't the disaster some thought it might be. Maybe that will be the case here.

It's time to turn the page.