Editor, The News:
As a resident of over 50 years and someone whom has followed the growth and development of my town, I feel that I need to comment regarding the article and recent opposition to industrial growth in the south Harris/Bonson area.
As a kid growing up, I vividly remember the Lasser farm. For those of you who don’t know what I am talking about, it was west of the Katzie First Nations reserve, directly in what is now Osprey Village.
That property became a new mill and was part of large tax base and many local good-paying jobs. In time, the mill closed, the land was sold and this industrial land, tax base and good local jobs were gone – forever. Housing was proposed, amenities promised – some still to be delivered – and we welcomed many new neighbours.
Our official community plan designated the bulk of the remaining undeveloped but farmed land – for industrial. The vast majority of this acreage was never in the Agricultural Land Reserve, as even in the early 70s, the commission knew that it had to leave land out for other uses. It also knew that farm taxation is on the lower end of assessment.
With the opening of the Golden Ears Bridge, Airport Way and our ever-growing airport, our time had come to realize an industrial tax base with the associated jobs. Our now disbanded economic development corporation worked extensively on this community vision. Many fellow long-term residents support and expect this to continue to move forward. Previous councils worked towards this goal. The last thing I want to see is more residents leaving our town to work elsewhere.
Dan Kosicki
Pitt Meadows
