Southlands in Transition

Thanks for drawing attention to the article by Brian Lewis. He makes some important points.

First about the division of the land - 33% residential, 40% agriculture, and the rest parks and recreation. So this means that by going ahead with the proposed Southlands Development, we would be losing 60% of the agricultural capacity of the land.

Last I checked, 40% was a failing grade, so in terms of incorporating agriculture and enhancing Delta's agricultural capacity, this project gets a big FAIL. (I'm sorry to put it so bluntly, but we need to preserve ALL of the existing farmland we have if we are going to continue to thrive into the future.)

He also points out that the community is split about 50-50 in terms of support or opposition to the project. This is also significant because it means that despite the more than 20 years of efforts by the developers, they still have not succeeded in winning public support for their project.

Sometimes it is best to walk away from a project like this, rather than risk being involved in something that will come to be seen as a great moral failing. I personally would not want to be seen as a Pariah in my own community.

If the Century Group is serious about urban agriculture, I suggest that the Century Group should look for sites in Tsawwassen and Delta that are already developed, and could be redeveloped into urban-agricultural communities. Developing on farmland is not sustainable, is not green, is not a good compromise. When it comes to our future survival there can be no compromise.