Did you hear the rumour about the six-storey building down at the Ladner waterfront? Or the tower proposed for Paterson Park? No? Well those are fictitious. But how about six-storey and fivestorey buildings on 56th Street in Tsawwassen where Southpointe Academy has been? That is not a rumour - it's a proposal by the Century Group.
The latest Tsawwassen Area Plan was given final reading last April. Before the ink was dry, Century had Delta council into a work session to explain that it wanted to be exempted from the area plan. While the area plan calls for three-storey buildings on the site, Century wants five and six storeys!
This proposal, not to be viewed just yet, was the subject of a report to council in September - before the election. At that time staff advised council it need not go to a public hearing - at least not yet.
No, instead it would be presented at a public information meeting - but just to the neighbours. Only the neighbours would be told about this meeting, and only the neighbours were to be invited.
I am delighted to report that earlier this week, after making inquiries, a notice is to appear elsewhere in this very paper today inviting you to that meeting. It will also appear in Delta's social media sites, and the reader boards in Tsawwassen and Ladner.
The project has not been approved for a public hearing and has not even been formally reviewed by council. So why does Delta appear to be convening this meeting? Will this meeting have any status? Will your comments, made there perhaps on a form, be transcribed into a document to convince councilors this project should proceed?
A sneak preview and comparison to the new area plan will show:
. Buildings are far too high. They should be three storeys, not five and six.
. Density (amount of floor space) is too high for the area.
. Proposed commercial should be in town centre, not north of town.
. Parking may be at least partly above street level.
. At this point, there is no plan at municipal hall available to review.
If this proposal is accepted, we need to tear up the area plan and start all over again! As it stands, it strikes me as a classic case of spot rezoning, where you never know what will happen down your street.
This is not planning - this is chaos! Who knows, it may be the start of six-plus-storey buildings up and down 56th Street. How would that feel?
This is likely to be followed by Century using same process with its plans for Southlands. The "endless meetings" process is exhausting. Is it deliberate?
I believe we elected a council to represent us. We voted 18 months ago in an Ipsos Reid survey to limit heights by a large majority - with more voting on that than in the recent election. Is the council listening?
