Editor:
Readers will have already seen the advertisement on page five placed by the OurCity2041 campaign urging people to participate in the May 31 public hearing on the proposed six-storey (affordabale housing) development at 823-841 Sixth St.
Some may wonder why we felt compelled to take out a full-page ad. There are three reasons.
First, we’ve canvassed New Westminster extensively circulating our petition, which over 1,300 people have signed. In every neighbourhood, we find large numbers of residents unaware of this application not just to rezone several city lots, but to (amend) the official community plan (OCP) to accommodate it. Given the extraordinary times we live in and the constraints placed on public debate by the COVID-19 pandemic, we believe more consultation is required before the city moves to consider such a precedent-setting amendment to the OCP.
Second, we believe it is possible to deliver affordable housing we can all support without making controversial and precedent-setting changes to the OCP. The OCP was developed after extensive consultations and was to guide our city’s development into the middle of the century. It identified areas in New Westminster where new developments should be situated. The OCP is a contract between the citizens of New Westminster and the city and council should honour it.
Finally, concerns over this development relative to the zoning changes have been overridden in the city’s process. The Glenbrooke North Residents Association voted decisively against such a massive structure being built in its neighbourhood at the largest meeting in its history. Residents adjacent to the development are almost unanimously opposed. And as mentioned, over 1,300 residents have supported our petition opposing the building of a six-storey building in the midst of a residential neighbourhood.
There is, of course, one more way to be heard. As noted, a public hearing will be held on May 31 on this proposed development. We hope you will join us in respectfully urging council to keep their promise and honour the official community plan for urban growth now and in the future in every neighbourhood in the city.
Romeo Bordignon, New Westminster
