Editor:
Unless we wish to reward the Hodgins' longstanding and laudable generosity towards our community and its institutions, the only Southlands question is does the requested zoning offer a net benefit to the residents of Delta?
At this stage in the proposal's progress certain issues seem relevant to that judgement:
Do we need additional housing? B.C. Stats reports the birth/death ratio is small and going negative. B.C. needs more housing primarily to accommodate interprovincial and international migration.
Do we need more housing variety? Tsawwassen offers a range of housing types, but not all. No market study proving Tsawwassen's need for the densely built types Century proposes has been provided.
What would be flood proofing's impact? An 11foot high berm would surround the new community. Roads over it would access homes within. Century suggests an alternative that further elevates buildings and eliminates the berm.
Delta's consultant estimated 147,000 dump truck loads of fill. Century says their approach requires only 60,526.
What new parks will we enjoy? Century previously proposed improved public parks with trails. Now they offer unimproved land.
Delta plans no development of parks for our enjoyment, but there would be a new Boundary Bay access from 56th Street.
Would farmland be farmed? Century must farm the land to secure low farm-rate taxation. Delta ownership would erase this motivation.
Century proposes to lease back 50 acres for 10 years and establish a governing body and infrastructure for a not-for-profit Delta Community Based Farm District. What would "not-for-profit" cost us? Delta offers no plan for the land's use and provides no list of farmers eager to lease it... either from Delta or Century.
The project would contribute to increasingly congested peak hour traffic on 56th Street. Intersections at 12th and Highway 17 would require upgrade within the time frame of the build out.
What are the tax implications?
If Century were to fund all needed improvements; the tax revenue from 950 homes would far exceed that now realized.
In my view, the net benefit to our community is negative. The development seems attractive but its location yields negatives. I regret this conclusion.
Delta's failure to plan anything appealing or productive with their 80 percent of the land yields no positives to offset the negatives resulting from the development's unfortunate location.
