Editor: Who are “the people?” “The people” seem to be saying a lot in Langley lately, yet they are such an elusive bunch. I see it in letter to the editor after letter, news report after news report — “The people” have not been heard in Fort Langley. Council has acted against “the people’s” wishes.
The fact is, “the people” who are in an uproar in Fort Langley are a very vocal minority. As the the squeaky wheel gets the grease (and media attention), the diligent worker bees put their heads down and try to build a community centrepiece worthy of attention, for all the right reasons.
The Coulter Berry issue has moved from a few people upset with what they view as injustice (and then getting nowhere with their message) to escalating the spread of misinformation. Now the same few people are wasting taxpayers’ money suing the Township of Langley over a decision that was perfectly within council’s right to make.
We have moved from the ridiculous to the downright absurd. But it gets more intriguing in Langley, as a few members of this minority are now a part of a new political slate. This is another platform from which to shout the same message again.
They have made it clear that they are not “anti-development”, nor is this a personal vendetta against one developer in particular. But if that were true, this same vocal few would have protested all requested variances of the Fort Langley Heritage Facade guidelines, and not just cherry pick the Coulter Berry project.
In life, it is always the brave souls and visionaries on the path of change who have their head put on the chopping block. It is not until the dust settles that the bigger picture is seen and appreciated.
The fact that another beautiful Fort Langley project which was approved after Coulter Berry (and also has a few variances of the same facade guidelines), received not one breath of protest from this group, speaks volumes as to their motives.
Keep out the competition, prohibit meaningful change. Because that is what this is about — change. Change is inevitable and a fact of life.
As our population grows, so we will need to be creative with how we use our land. We can’t fight both urban sprawl on our farmland and yet also fight building up.
The few members of the new political slate fighting over a 14-foot height variance is also vocal about preserving our ALR. It just doesn’t make sense to fight these opposing concepts, unless of course there is another motive to do so.
Be wary folks of the message being spread. This is not a movement, it is a farce. The petition often used as a gauge of “the people” who are against Coulter Berry was authored by a few of these people. It was riddled with misleading information to its signers and padded with hundreds of names of people who do not live in Fort Langley.
But as in all areas of life, a negative campaign spreads faster than the truth. So let this be a little bit of truth for you. There is in fact a movement brewing in Fort Langley. And that movement is for this madness to stop.
And the movement involves the huge number of supporters of smart and meaningful growth in Fort Langley, who will start sticking our necks out to say thank you for hearing us.
Misty VanPopta,
Langley
