Dear Editor:
I would like to applaud Erin Carlson and stop the land swap movement and publically voice my support of this endeavour.
Awareness has been brought to the issue as well as compelling arguments against taking land out of the ALR. Many of the points that favour no land swap were actually listed by Council in their “Urban Growth Strategy Review.”Council needs to focus on downtown revitalization. Without a vibrant downtown it is difficult to attract new families and businesses to Summerland, which ultimately should be the primary goal of all Summerlanders at this worrying stage of stalled growth. As stated in the “UGS Review,” Summerland has had a lower than average growth rate for some time and as we have large areas in the downtown core which are fully serviced and underdeveloped, energy should be focused in that direction. It seems to me that Council is putting the cart before the horse in this whole initiative.
Attention should only shift to developing areas outside the downtown core once we see a substantial turn-around in our growth of new residents and businesses.
Felicity Stahl
Concerned business owner and Summerland resident