The future of the Southlands will undoubtedly be the most contentious issue in Tsawwassen in this fall's municipal election, prompting voters to pick sides and align themselves with likeminded candidates.
Those currently occupying the seats around the council table have taken pains to profess their open mindedness when it comes to the Southlands, but voters can't help but read into their actions as they seek out suitable candidates in November.
Initially it looked like, at least to the casual observer, this edition of Delta council wasn't too interested in getting its hands dirty dealing with Tsawwassen's longest-running saga. It did its best to ignore the issue during area plan discussions and kept the agricultural designation status quo in the first draft of that plan.
Then, thanks to a proposal to put the property back in the Agricultural Land Reserve, it appeared civic politicians were opposed to any form of development. Since that time, however, the mayor convened a hand-picked summit, out of which came a request to the Century Group to come back with a scaled down development proposal. That plan was unveiled in June and is undergoing further refinement before it returns to municipal hall next month.
It's hard to keep up with all the twists and turns, but it appears civic politicians have gone from indifference and avoidance (status quo) to opposition to development (put it in the ALR) to at least some level of support for development (Century application).
I know some on council would shudder at that last characterization, but given they're at least willing to entertain the notion I don't think it's unreasonable for voters to come to that conclusion.
Contrast that position with the one taken by mayoralty candidate Krista Engelland and council hopeful Sylvia Bishop, who have made it clear they want to see the site retained for agriculture, and you begin to see how voters are viewing their options come November.
And before anyone tries to shop the "We have a duty to consider anything that comes before us" line, let's be clear that council invited this latest proposal from Century.
I'm not suggesting that supporting what Sean Hodgins is proposing is wrong; in fact, I believe there are a lot of positives associated with the project, including putting the issue to rest.
All I'm getting at is council's actions over the past few months have, like it or not, led voters to think in a certain way.
