Southlands in Transition

 There was an interesting article in the February 24 Delta Optimist which described some of the zoning hurdles facing densifying the Town core.

The TAPC will continue public hearings to address this and other topics relating to the Tsawwassen Area Plan. Here is a schedule:

The next round of Tsawwassen Area Plan public consultation meetings will be held on the following dates:

- Thursday, March 4, South Delta Secondary

Topic: town centre/housing and neighbourhoods

- Tuesday, March 23, Pebble Hill Elementary

Topic: climate change and environment

- Thursday, March 25, English Bluff Elementary

Topic: transportation/parks, recreation and culture

 I have tried to take Ed Ries with a grain of salt over the years. He seems to flip flop a lot on issues and his tone often suggests that he and he only is the most suitably informed to offer opinions on how we should live and evolve in South Delta.

In his latest navel gazing exercise Ries has failed to consider how South Delta and Tsawwassen in particular are expected to move on in other generations beyond Ries’s which is, with no disrespect, at the top end of the demographic.

To a first time homebuyer or a senior wishing to downsize, affordable housing means saving a hundred thousand or so.

To a first time buyer weighing the pros and cons of what a 2500 sq,ft house with dueling lawns and a double garage at 600K vs a small foot print townhome at 500K the difference is called affordability.

The problem is that we do not have that option in Tsawwassen because there are no townhomes!

Ries thinks that his pleasantville bedroom community living is a sought after vision for all.

Guess what?....it isn’t!

Many people understand the benefits living within a small footprint and want to live their lives beyond the excesses that Ries covets so dearly.

It’s time that we had a chance to benefit from the housing choices that so many other communities have.

 Brian Lewis suggests that Tsawwassen could be the model for the entire lower mainland especially  when "residential development and local food production compete for the same acreage". 

Take a look at his article HERE. You may also want to take this opportunity to revisit Michael Ableman and what he had to say at the Charrette.

A "Post Charrette Paper "has been circulated to residents and businesses in South Delta. A copy is attached below. As always, if you have any questions or comments you can use our comment and blog function on this site ( you will need to register to post a blog) or you can e-mail us directly at team@southlandsintransition.ca. If you would like to view the complete charrette book you can do that right here.

View the flash version here. (To view the newsletter click and drag the cursor on the bottom right hand corner to flip the page.)

I thought Rick Hulbert gave a fantastic presentation tonight. There were some compelling examples of housing types that could work very effectively on the Southlands.
I was particularly interested in the idea of volume being factored in to density calculations. I also enjoyed the fruit photo analogy where 6 watermellons used as much space as 275 blueberrys.Rick Hulbert Presentation Interesting stuff. Any comments from the SCPT?

An hour with my daughter on a beautiful afternoon at the Earthwise facility gave pause to think about things and how they might be integrated in to a land use plan for the Southlands. Take a look at the video below. Make some time to visit 3rd and Boundary Bay road (Red barn)...you'll be glad you did.

Farming in Tsawwassen?
I really enjoyed the presentation form Edward Porter and the ensuing discussion from the group. The topic of small niche agricultural lots cropped up and there was some really interesting commentary from many members of the group.
An example of what can be done on small plots of land was shown in a brief power point by Sean. His family visited a 12 acre farm in the middle of several sub divisions in Southern California earlier this year. The property, Fairview Gardens, provides the community with many types of fruits and vegetables and is an excellent example of intensive use of arable land. Take a look at the Fairview Virtual Tour
This session was extremely important in my view and I believe that our community needs to look at practical niche applications of agriculture but it also has to consider regarding agriculture as inherently good in the many ways discussed last night. eg.....Practical, Recreational and Educational.
Great session!

Carla and her boys playing 'hooky'
I get some of my best thinking done on long walks. Today, a sunny Monday after an interesting weekend, my thoughts drifted back to my youth when I took the summer off and travelled all over the place. That year I spent a couple of months in Europe and a month in California. I went everywhere and I took a billion pictures.

Wish I knew where they were! Today on my beach walk I thought of Huntington beach, Newport Beach and Balboa Island. All funky cool and vibrant beachside communities with plenty to do and each dressed with interesting homes and shops.

Could the Southlands look like that one day?

That was a lot of fun the other day!

This photo means something to me. Both of there structures have been instrumental in supporting a working farm.

To me, the retro-fitting of the 'Red Barn' says evolution. It says new and old. There is nothing wrong with new.

New has been good to humans for a very long time.