Editor:
A great number of people in the community feel they have not been listened to by City of Delta; and that the new Winskill Park design was a done deal before the community engagement tick box was checked.
I don’t believe there was ever any public engagement regarding the fourth diamond option that will now result in the near-complete loss of existing green space. While the city has come forward with options to relocate the disc golf course, this appears to have been an afterthought for damage control. An alternate location should have been addressed as part of the original plan. Many other concerns have not been addressed, and likely never will be.
We should not be surprised by how this has unfolded.
Let’s not forget the recent Official Community Plan (OCP) debacle that will now transform both the heart of Tsawwassen and Ladner’s historic village into significant urban centres with considerable building heights, out of character with the existing communities.
Despite overwhelming public opposition, and the many hundreds of people who spoke passionately against the OCP in writing or in person at the public hearing, there was no effort by anyone on council to give sober thought about those concerns - even if for optics alone.
A motion to approve the new OCP went quickly to a vote and without any discussion the new OCP was approved unanimously. This was astonishing considering the importance of an OCP to the community.
The final OCP as approved was substantively identical to the draft OCP, indicating the entire public engagement exercise had been meaningless.
The Winskill Park project has shaped out no differently.
Andrew Boyce
