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Land decision will be permanent

So many excellent points have been made countering the land swap proposal.

Dear Editor:

“Debating the best way to do something we shouldn’t be doing in the first place is a sure way to end up in the wrong place.” — David Suzuki

So many excellent points have been made countering the land swap proposal that Summerland mayor and council are trying to push through that is to be, ostensibly, good for all of us.

In spite of public consultation, it seems to me that too few are going to come to a decision that is going to affect all of us forever.

If the Agricultural Land Reserve committee involved allows the soul and the intrinsic rural beauty of this little town to be interfered with, the end result will be something resembling so many other small communities in this valley that have sold out.

When townfolk live shoulder-to-shoulder with farmers, we are privy to some knowledge of what it takes to put food on our tables.

That realization may be  one of the things that keeps this town real and  makes it special.

Instead, council  could  be working to better support the remaining businesses in our downtown.

They could be giving tax breaks to businesses that may want to start up in one of our many empty storefronts.

They could be courting new businesses for one of our industrial areas  relating to agriculture. John Deere? Lee Valley? McKenzie Seeds?

Dream big.

Jobs for young people are what is needed, not more housing projects that will, if they sell, lead to Summerland becoming merely a bedroom community with an empty downtown core. This just cannot be allowed to happen here.

S. Cooper

Summerland