It is upsetting to many Summerland residents that the Banks Crescent housing development has already passed second reading.
Some councillors claimed that they didn’t have enough information.
A very crucial part in the decision is concerning the spring supplying water for the fish hatchery. This Shaughnessy spring is underneath the property where the development would be. How would covering a large portion of the property with buildings and digging into the soil for underground parking affect runoff? There is no possible way that the developer can prove that the spring would be unaffected. The fish hatchery is a $100 million dollar business supplying 300 lakes, a business that we should not jeopardize just for the sake of a developer.
Make no mistake: the Banks development is about building condos, not about making a seniors’ residence as they are presently advertising. It’s in the wrong place for a seniors’ residence anyway, far from the centre of town with steep access. Also, how would it be fair to chop off the front lawns of the Latimer Street residents just to provide a wider access road so that the developer can stash in a bundle? Any one of you would be furious to lose part of your property in that way and then have to deal with increased traffic on this narrow road.
The development proposal is for the wrong place with too much red zone around it.
Marilyn Hansen
Summerland
