It looks like the developer is going to have to make some significant revisions to plans for the final phase of Marina Garden Estates before civic politicians are going to bite.
The fact Delta wants Captain's Cove Marina/Polygon Homes to engage in more dialogue with area residents rather than moving their proposal toward a public hearing suggests the current incarnation of the plan could well be dead in the water.
Given the overwhelmingly negative feedback they've received on this one so far, Delta council members realize if they were to hold a public hearing right now that speaker after speaker would let them know, in no uncertain terms, that what's envisioned isn't in keeping with the neighbourhood. At the end of that lengthy process, during which time homeowners would routinely lambaste council for putting the community through such an unnecessary exercise, the project would almost certainly be defeated.
It's hardly a road civic politicians want to travel, so getting the developer to find some common ground with the neighbours seems like a far more sensible approach.
With approval for several hundred more homes as well as a hotel already in his back pocket, the developer doesn't actually need to endure a public hearing in order to continue to build on the banks of the Fraser River in Ladner. However, those behind the project don't necessarily want to construct what was agreed upon three decades ago, so they're back before council looking to amend the plans.
Trouble is those who have moved into the neighbourhood over the last quarter-century really like what's been developed and don't want to see it materially change with five-storey condo buildings and three-and-a-half-storey townhouses added to the mix. There's no denying that as much as that type of housing is needed in Ladner and might be more marketable than the status quo, it's also a significant departure from what's there now and what was supposed to round out the development.
While there's a line of reasoning that suggests times change so plans will naturally follow suit, the bottom line in this case is that the current proposal is at odds with the wishes of the vast majority of residents living in Marina Garden Estates.
Perhaps upcoming discussions between developer and community will result in revisions the majority can support, but until that middle ground is achieved, it doesn't look like this project will see the light of day.
