Dear Editor:
I was fortunate over the last 50 years to have lived in some very interesting communities in British Columbia, none of which have provided the scope of varied vision as Summerland.
Truly, I have had a very intriguing 25 years observing the optics of Summerland.
The wise leaders of this community, our forefathers, have prudently developed it over the years to ensure that the resources, environment, growth, have been regulated to protect the community as a whole.
Growth started in the Lowertown to take advantage of the services provided by the packing houses, for shipment of product on the lake.
Irrigation was developed to provide orchards and families with a water source from our interior lakes, with dams being built to sustain this resource, probably today the most effective system in the Okanagan.
Changes in the growth resulted in movement for expansion to what is now the core of Summerland. Where our growth flourished, housing replaced orchards, stores and shopping flourished.
In 1972, with the advent of the Agricultural Land Reserve, lands in the core of Summerland were included restricting growth to our core.
Some acreages were left out of the ALR in residential areas, one in particular the present Banks development proposal by Lark.
Fortunately, our wise forefathers had taken steps to protect the area of Lowertown with regulations built into the zoning by-laws, as well as the Official Community Plan, to ensure that the protection of the Lowertown was considered prior to any development.
This was not a whimsical decision, but a wise decision based on common sense.
For that I give our forefathers credit. They took into consideration, before environmentalists and biologists were on the scene, the impact of development in an environmentally sensitive area.
Then along comes greed and no common sense.
Council is being requested to enact new zoning bylaws that have never been seen in major cities in the valley, as well as change the Official Community Plans that do not reflect anything seen in our community, let alone a medium residentially zoned area.
The heart and soul of this community is being exploited by property owners who don’t reside here and an out of town developer who see dollars in their pockets at the expense of our residents.
I ask you, as our council, does this make common sense?
Orv Robson
Summerland