Editor:
Re: Height, density restrictions set for town centre, Feb. 18
Before the 2018 civic election, the to-be-elected Democracy Direct candidates were passing around a petition by the Farmers Market against highrises. They said highrises do not suit the vision of our City by the Sea. There were a lot of people who agreed and thousands had it up to here with the last council for approving them. The White Rock Coalition was pummelled in the polls.
The CR-1 Zoning changes in the town centre this council is proposing include highrises that are up to 29 storeys high or more, four storeys higher than the current allowance. More in line with the last council’s North Bluff Road Study which suggested heights of 30 storeys or more.
The staff has admitted to plugging in arbitrary numbers for heights in this new zoning bylaw, based on generalized statements of higher buildings along North Bluff and not reflected in the results from the OCP workshops. The data said that 61 per cent of the participants wanted only a maximum of 12 storeys in the town centre.
This new CR-1 zoning is going in the reverse direction of what this council campaigned on. It is a very slippery slope as they shall find out. The last council didn’t listen to the pushback and anger against highrises in White Rock and where are they now?
Garry Wolgemuth, White Rock