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LETTER: iCasa proposal would benefit community

This letter is in regard to the proposed seniors’ development off of Latimer Street.

Dear Editor:

This letter is in regard to the proposed seniors’ development off of Latimer Street.

It appears that we are already well into the NIMBY stage of discussions. (Or as someone recently suggested, CAVE Citizens Against Virtually Everything.)

Rather than waiting to see if all the various approvals have been given and technical issues sorted out, residents have already decided it is a bad idea. In haste, I would suggest:

We live only one block from Solly and use Solly on a daily basis.

It was noted in the research on this proposal that the current traffic load on Solly is 1,500 vehicles per day out of a maximum load limit of 8,000 vehicles.

Taking into account the roughly 118 to 142 vehicles per hour estimated increase, it will still leave Solly well under the maximum usage. There could actually be two to three cars on Solly at one time!

This development would provide 80 or more jobs plus increasing our tax base by several hundred thousand per year. Both jobs and an increased tax base are needed by our community.

So if all the hurdles of traffic control, entry and exit, water runoff, geotechnical surveys etc. all pass muster, the project should be allowed, indeed be encouraged to proceed.

Our town needs more density, more jobs, more tax dollars and more housing and care opportunities for seniors.

This could be the project that provides the city with the traction necessary to morph into a city that serves seniors and becomes a centre for seniors’ care attracting medical and other professionals to our community.

Chris Beaton

Summerland