A Summerland town hall meeting Monday lasted more than three hours with no real conclusion but the resistance to change continues.
The plan was for the District’s residents to get their questions answered on Summerland’s controversial land swap. Those questions selected were read by a staff member. People leaving the information meeting said they had not changed their minds and felt council was not listening – even disrespectful.
Mayor Janice Perrino said this meeting was to give more information and clarify a number of issues.
Councillor Peter Waterman was the only council member who was applauded for his position of defending the ALR land.
A second public hearing where citizens can use the microphone will be held in the same gymnasium later this month.
Council scheduled Monday’s town hall meeting after people were turned away from a previous public hearing, on March 3, due to lack of space.
From the District: Are the two councilors that own land in the designated area allowed to take part in the Urban Growth Process? No, they have declared a conflict of interest and are not able to attend the public hearing or vote on the matter”
Why is the District taking land out of the ALR? These 199 acres were the top choice to have Summerland grow allowing denser housing closer to town and including more farmland further away from the district core.
“This is the first time we are getting the chance to talk to Council and it is an opportunity to change the dialogue in this community” said Erin Carlson, organizer of the grassroots group Stop the Swap that has mobilized to protest the land swap. “It is a chance to ask the questions that have not been answered yet…”
The swap would see just over eighty hectares of prime farming land in Summerland removed from the ALR. Ninety hectares of lesser quality land farther out of town, in West Prairie Valley, has been proposed to be swapped in to compensate. Farmers, developers and those in the community that support the ALR appear to be against further incursion into farmland.
