Community should lead development

Thank you for your (Oct. 21) story on development in the downtown village of Qualicum Beach.

Thank you for your (Oct. 21) story on development in the downtown village of Qualicum Beach.

The self-serving comments and thinly-veiled threats of the developer who was quoted in the opening paragraphs effectively illustrated what our town has faced over the past three years, as a three-councillor majority of council rushed through the large multi-storey Clarion condo project next door to our town hall with neither meaningful debate nor public consultation.

I have no doubt that this developer applauded the speed with which this project was approved along with the forgiveness of development cost charges.

This, I assume, is what he means when he says that the current regime speaks the language of developers. For myself, I prefer the plain English and thoughtful approach of Mayor Teunis Westbroek and candidate Anne Skipsey, both of whom, in the same story, expressed a more common sense, sustainable approach to finding the right fit for our village centre, based on the will of the community, rather than the requirements of developers.

Paul KybaQualicum Beach

Parksville Qualicum Beach News