The decision by council to apply for land at 15th Street and Pottery Road to be removed from the Agricultural Land Reserve sets a dangerous precedent.
If permitted, it will be that much harder in future to resist calls for larger and more productive blocks of land to be removed from the ALR.
The need to preserve farmland, given the onset of climate change, makes this a bad decision by a council that seems to be focused on grabbing building permit revenue no matter what the long-term cost. I can only hope that the province denies the application.
News that Vernon is one of the fastest growing communities in B.C. makes me worried.
We have large swaths of land already zoned for future development and we seem to attract builders who want to build sprawling, low-density subdivisions that are extremely expensive for the city to service with fire protection, police, sewer and public transport.
This type of development decision by council means higher per household property taxes in the long-term compared to a higher density development model.
Developments like the Foothills and Middleton lack services like local grocery stores and schools due to the low-density and contribute to more automobile traffic around town. This does not make for a healthy and sustainable community.
A councillor was recently quoted as saying the official community plan was merely a “guideline.”
Perhaps it’s time we had a debate across this city as to what type of development we want and change the rules so that a revised official community plan binds council to follow it.
I’m reminded of a conversation with a retired couple who moved with regret from Vernon to downtown Kelowna as they wanted to live in a condo within walking distance of stores and restaurants.
As they said, Vernon real estate had nothing to offer but subdivisions and driving.
Come on council. This is a great place to live. Let’s make it better, not worse. Make decisions our children will appreciate, not regret.
Ritchie Leslie
Vernon
