Editor:
Re: Opponents say rejection will be short-lived, Aug. 5.
As someone who has been a supporter of the City of Surrey and council, I was shocked and dismayed as to how residents were handled by council relating to the duplex development on 26 Avenue.
Notwithstanding more than 350 signatures of residents opposed to the application, council berated the residents who attended the July 27 meeting that we needed to compromise, that council was reluctantly sending back the application and that there would only be one more chance in September before this application was approved.
They were unanimous in their praise for the architect/applicant.
In response to the numerous presentations by residents, the architect/applicant said he now felt like it was not to be heard. In truth, the people who are not being heard are the longstanding residents of Grandview Heights who moved to this part of the city in good faith, have paid substantial city taxes over the years and whose primary concerns are upholding the spirit of the city’s own Neighbourhood Concept Plan for this area.
Council seems to have forgotten what was written in the NCP, but the fact that 350 signatures gathered in less than two weeks at the height of summer seems to hold little concern for them is astounding.
What is also incongruous is that council approved two applications for single-family homes adjacent to the proposed duplex property to fourth reading. Council seems to think it is reasonable to put duplexes on 26 Avenue surrounded by single-family homes on a quiet residential street, so council is not even holding to their own precedents.
Council cares more about developers than it does about taxpaying residents. That is why most of the green areas in our city are being torn down in favour of primarily high-density developments.
What is also irresponsible is that little is being done to add to roads and infrastructure, meaning greater congestion and a poorer quality of living. This is the ‘future that lives here’ in Surrey and, after almost 20 years in this city, we have now decided to reluctantly leave it.
Tracy Redies, Surrey