Editor:
Re: White Rock bans coach houses for now, Sept. 11.
I was one of the people who participated three years ago on the citizens committee that strongly opposed what White Rock Mayor Wayne Baldwin now refers to as “the mess on Findlay.”
Unfortunately, my family also happens to live right behind this mess.
During the public consultation process three years ago, Baldwin supported the opposing views held by the citizens committee.
Despite all of our concerns, good advice and repeated consultations, the mess on Findlay Street was approved, perhaps only because, as Coun. Al Campbell indicated this month, “it was sold to us.”
Where have we seen this before?
Once construction began, mature trees that had been tagged by the city were all cut down. Deep and dangerous excavations next to the sidewalk remained unprotected until the city was notified. Noise infractions on Sundays and holidays had to be reported to the bylaw officer again and again for the past three years.
Although the focus now is on the issue of coach houses, one of the most conspicuous blemishes of this development are the series of towering fire walls that loom from the ground to above each roof ridge. How could the city have approved such a ridiculous design? Let me guess – it was yet another mistake?
Having suffered through the last three years of construction nightmare, I was utterly blown away to read the comments made by mayor and council in the PAN.
Now that all the wrong decisions have been made on the Finlay Street development, we get this humble admission that the views and values of the citizens committee were correct after all.
Our neighbourhood must now live with the legacy of a development that will stand as a glaring example of the city’s bad decision making. I am now a very disillusioned citizen that no longer trusts the public-consultation process, and I fear for the future development of White Rock that is based on a patchwork of planning mistakes.
D. Kistritz, White Rock
