Editor:
Re: Pushing the development envelope (Optimist, letters, March 18)
Successive councils have pushed the development envelope in Tsawwassen for years, never heeding the cumulative effects of the developments they approve.
That is why noise levels along 56th Street are of the order of 90-100 decibels, loud enough to cause hearing damage. We have not even begun to see the full effects of the Southlands development and council continues to push developments through, regardless of community opposition.
An example is the new development on Hunter Road; the local residents do not want it; council approved it anyway.
The developer can reckon to pocket something in the order of $5 to 10 million. The community gets $60,000 as compensation. Taxes from the development will add a mere 0.03 per cent to City of Delta revenues; council is willing to inflict this development on the community for the sake of little more than a rounding error on its books.
The project will destroy a stand of healthy young trees. Local residents will have to put up with noise, dirt, traffic obstruction and pedestrian hazard for the next one to two years. That’s how much council cares about the community.
As usual, the developer’s convenience comes first; the community’s best interests come a bad last.
The City of Delta motto: “Ours to preserve with hand and heart” is either cynical or merely goofy.
Tom Morrison
