Moratorium would threaten potential of new hospital area
I have thoroughly investigated the Christopher Justice moratorium and have engaged with North Cowichan staff, politicians and Bell McKinnon residents to offer the following:
• The Bell McKinnon lands are the perfect location for the Cowichan Valley’s new Hospital and our new Local Area Plan supports this.
• The land use designations identified within the Local Area Plan allow the private development of adjacent lands to support an Integrated Campus of Care, offering patients and families easy access to a continuum of healthcare services all in one walkable location from the new CDH.
• During the rezoning of the CDH lands, Bell McKinnon residents supported the new CDH on the condition that the Local Area Plan would be implemented.
• If approved by council, the Christopher Justice moratorium will stop development of all adjacent lands but will not stop the development of the hospital.
• The net impact of Christopher Justice’s proposal is that local residents are now questioning their support for the hospital project on Bell McKinnon Road and the new CDH will lose an important opportunity to have private investment create an Integrated Campus of Care within walking distance of the new CDH.
• What now?
Do hospital project leaders care if local residents support the project?
Do hospital project leaders want the new CDH set within a walkable health care campus?
• If you answered yes to either one of these questions then please engage North Cowichan council and reject the Justice development moratorium and ask that the Bell McKinnon corridor’s gold award winning Local Area Plan be reconfirmed by council by enshrining it in the upcoming Official Community Plan.
Dave Jackson
North Cowichan
