Editor:
Re: Tree motive argued, Dec. 4.
Under B.C.’s Community Charter, municipally elected officials can only be disqualified from office as a result of unethical council-related conduct – such as a conflict of interest or an unauthorized use of municipal funds, or for missing four consecutive meetings.
Let’s call upon our investigative reporters to uncover any conflict of interest our councillors and mayor may have in regards to the clearcutting along Marine Drive.
It is the only reason that makes any sense for the travesty of a clearcut that has left the lone eagle pine weeping in despair at the landscape (Tree stands alone, Dec. 2). Even as a new resident, I, too, wept as I drove by this once beautiful view.
White Rock cannot continue to vote in councillors and a mayor who can act with impunity against the wishes of its citizens, and not be completely transparent with the rationale for their actions.
Slope stabilization my ass. There is more to this than is being admitted and this type of decision making and action needs to stop.
Alison Prentice, White Rock
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I would add my voice to the outcry over devastation of the natural space along the White Rock promenade.
My husband and I live in Kamloops. We visit his parents in White Rock about four times a year.
I’m a runner, and I look forward to the quarterly treat of running the promenade early in the morning. The view, the smell and surge of the ocean, the wheeling gulls and eagles, the native plants and…
Oh, wait. The City of White Rock has denuded the rich ecology between the promenade and the railway bed. Already a small nod to nature, these native plants, shrubs and trees housed many small birds, insects and rodents, lending that section of the promenade a wonderful parkland feel.
The excuses for this offence to nature and to the citizens of White Rock range from flimsy to erroneous, as others have noted (City slashes while residents burn, Dec. 4 letters). Vegetation and tree roots increase bank stability, a child in elementary school could tell you this.
I am appalled by this tragedy. It has soured my White Rock experience. I’m sure I won’t be the only tourist who feels the same.
Katie Welch, Kamloops