Editor:
The Dunbar Lumber re-development application if approved will be the beginning of the end of the Ladner Village.
This proposal and its effect on the Village needs a public hearing and yet for some reason this council has decided to waive this opportunity. Why? What is it afraid of? A contrary opinion? Some of the most contentious re-developments in South Delta have benefited from concerned residents' ideas brought forward at public hearings. Public hearings bring people together, build community (instead of shutting it out) even with differing points of view.
People agree more housing is needed. While I was on council, it was generally agreed and the public understood, that housing density should increase outside of the Village, still within convenient walking distance to its shops and restaurants, in order to preserve the character of the Village.
If approved, this six-storey building will be the first of a series of dominoes that will see the Village lose its character and charm, replaced by ever increasing six-storey buildings.
We are all familiar with the old saying, “It takes a village to raise a child,” to which we might be adding, “It only takes one council to ruin a Village.”
Sylvia Bishop
