South Delta is about to undergo a transformation so radical it will rival changes ushered in after the opening of the George Massey Tunnel.
Like it or not, it's a reality locals have no choice but to begin accepting, according to lifelong resident and former mayor Doug Husband.
Reflecting on how little South Delta has changed in recent years during an interview with the Optimist, Husband offered his take on the major developments planned for the posttreaty Tsawwassen First Nation land. Combined with port expansion and the South Fraser Perimeter Road, the impacts will be just as radical as the opening of the George Massey Tunnel a half century ago, he says, adding residents better get used to the idea because the upcoming changes are well beyond the municipality's control.
"I think it's good that people who own the land should have rights, as long as it's done in the context of the community. That's where it's going to take some dialogue with the mayor and council," Husband says regarding the many developments planned at the TFN.
Husband, who was mayor during the history-making TDL public hearing for the Southlands in 1989, lost the election the following year as a result of fallout from the controversial 1,900-home proposal, even though it was rejected by Delta council.
He says there's been a "no growth" attitude in the community for a long time.
While he says that's not necessarily a bad thing, it also had consequences, including a stagnate and aging population, shrinking school enrollment and loss of many businesses that could no longer make a go of it in South Delta.
"We don't have a theatre anymore, we don't have a Dairy Queen (in Ladner), we lost our shops. In Tsawwassen there used to be a furniture store.
"Even before the tunnel, we had bigger box stores. People in Ladner, and that's mostly what there was in those days, except for some from Sunbury and Annieville, would go to New Westminster, where they had Woodward's and Eaton's. But you could also buy furniture, you could buy stoves, you could buy everything in Ladner that you needed."
Husband says there were around 8,600 people in Delta in the 1956 census, yet 20 years later the population had grown to over 70,000.
"There was a major population explosion. Major infrastructure was built - roads, water and sewer in the three communities. George Hodgins wanted to build another West Vancouver but it didn't quite succeed."
Part of the problem for Delta, he says, is that it's an awkward, fragmented municipality, comprised of three separate communities. Noting Tsawwassen grew more gradually than North Delta, Husband says the no-growth attitude began to gain momentum when he was first elected to council in 1979.
He says it was partly due to a complex budgeting process and competition among Ladner, Tsawwassen and North Delta, where people in one community didn't want to pay for the growth in the others.
The no-growth feelings then became more consolidated around the mid-1980s when a new wave residents arrived in South Delta, he says.
"People can handle pocket development. People can handle piecemeal development, but people can't handle big change in the community," he says. "So what you have are streets that really don't match up, you've got housing that was built at different times, you've got flood proofing at different elevations."
He says the lack of housing variety in Delta has been a particular concern as many residents end up moving to places like White Rock.
Husband notes the TFN's housing and massive mall developments, ironically, will quickly transform the area, bringing new forms of housing and retail as well as associated impacts, including traffic.
He says South Delta's commercial sector will initially suffer, but changes will be made to adapt.
Businesses, such as dry cleaners or bakeries, should make out fine, but it will be tough for those competing directly with Tsawwassen Commons or Tsawwassen Mills when they open, he says.
Husband says the municipality does have amenities and places that can become real draws for those also visiting the TFN, but it will be up to Delta to see how it can take advantage.
He believes that Delta trying to have a more positive, constructive relationship with the Tsawwassen First Nation can only be a good thing.
"I still think there's some tension there, but I think more can be done to communicate on what's going on."
As far as the possibility of the First Nation eventually building a casino, Husband believes it would no doubt benefit their commercial development.
Husband, who recently signed on as an Optimist columnist, also says that many of the changes taking place had their origins in the 1960s, when the provincial government expropriated thousands of acres of land in South Delta for future industrial development for the port.
"This was the foreboding of the future. They've given back most of those lands to the farms, but you're seeing the fruits of the planning with the advent of the tunnel. People will have to make choices - stay, help out or move."
