Dear Editor:
I was quite taken by the letter “Development proposal is fracturing the community” published in the Summerland Review of March 23. It is so true.
What is described in the letter is in line with the principles of Community Heart and Soul, a process started by the well-known Orton Family Foundation in 1995.
They found that “communities whose residents have the highest level of attachment also have the highest rates of GDP growth.” In other words: Emotional attachment equals stronger economy.
In the USA many struggling communities have applied the Orton Foundation Community Heart and Soul process with remarkable results.
Their process is a “planning methodology that uses broad citizen engagement to build economically resilient and socially vibrant communities based on towns’ unique local character.
The Community Heart and Soul method improves local decision-making, creates a shared sense of belonging, and ultimately strengthens the social, cultural, and economic vibrancy of communities.”
The communities in question are quite similar to Summerland.
I invite you to go to http://www.orton.org/heart-soul and explore what this is all about and how it can help us achieve our goals: To ensure that our town is run by the residents for the residents, to sustain and/or grow our town’s economy while maintaining its character, to revitalize the downtown core, to make the town aesthetically pleasing with park areas for all to enjoy, to ensure that the residents are proud to live there no matter what age group, and that their Heart and Soul is rooted in its future.
I have lived in different countries around the world, but never in a town the size and location of Summerland. However, I know very well why I moved here.
I sincerely hope that our mayor, council and municipal staff try everything in their power to open a conversation on this subject with the citizens of Summerland and maintain/build our town’s character and looks the way we have come to love it.
Good sustainable economic growth is possible without destroying our Hearts and Souls.
Pride in our town begins in our homes and our amazing neighborhoods.
We need to nurture them. We should not use our neighborhoods as short sighted tools for economic development.
Aart Dronkers
Summerland