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At the all candidates meeting at the Delta Town & Country Inn on Nov.1st, the candidates were first asked how they feel about the developer’s—Century Group’s president Sean Hodgins—conceptual proposals for Southlands in Boundary Bay, which would see the agriculturally zoned land split into a third housing, a third farming and a third community amenities
"Only Duane Laird said outright he is in favour of the Southlands project."
It is interseting to note that Mr. Laird scored the lowest number of votes (3953) in the current 2008 Delta municipal election.
I posted the following comment today (Nov. 10) on my blog on the "Southlands in Transition" page:
A recent (Nov 7, South Delta Leader) 1/2 page ad by Century Group states that the "inspiration behind these plans? It was quite simply, the sustainable, connected life that was lived in places like Tsawwassen just 50 years ago"
That would put us into 1958. There was no suburb called "Tsawwassen". Our postal address in South Delta was "Ladner, BC, RR#2. The Southlands were called Triple S Spetifore Farms and were actively farmed. The Town Centre Mall was an orchard. The Safeway Mall area was a potato farm. There were no traffic lights in South Delta. There was no Massey Tunnel or Hwy.17.
Fast forward 50 years to 2008. Stop go traffic lights every couple of blocks on 56th. Street. Strip malls. Heavy Delta Port truck traffic. Increasing volumes of BC Ferry generated car and truck traffic. Barely endurable rush hour back-ups at Hwy.10 & the Massey Tunnel.
And Century Group wishes to add an extra 2,000 dwellings built on top of good farmland and create more traffic congestion to our peninsula, which has only one exit road by adding hundreds of new commuters?
It does not remotely sound either like the sustainable or connected life of 50 years ago.
I submitted this letter to the Vancouver Sun in response to their article, May 15, section B, "New Urbanist vision shapes proposal on former Spetifore Lands in Tsawwassen"
Dear Editor,
Re: New, greener Southlands future pondered, Van. Sun article May 15.
The proposed development of the Southlands in Tsawwwassen is another attempt by a developer to rezone agricultural land to gain huge profits. A large development to build 1,800 units was proposed for this area in 1989, formerly known as the Spetifore Lands. The community rallied against it, and after the longest municipal public meeting in Canadian history, it was unanimously rejected. Fast forward to today. The current owner, Century Holdings is proposing a development of 1,500 units and has spared no expense in a public relations excersise to project the plan as "green, livable, agricultural, walkable." Hardly a word is mentioned about houses, condos, roads and community traffic impacts. Take away the PR spin, and it is another attempt to pave over productive farmland in exchange for windfall profits, estimated by some to be $150,000,000. Century Holdings purchased agricultural land on spec with no intention of ever farming it. The "Greener future" they envision comes in the form of a substantial cash crop.
I recently wrote a 'letter to the editor' to the Vancouver Sun in response to a "Special to the Sun" article by Rob Bansford, promoting the development of the Southlands. It has not been published.
Re: How yesterday's 'Spetifore lands' became today's 'Southlands', May 3, 2008
One doesn’t need to read too far into the “Special to the Sun” article regarding the proposed development on the Southland property, before “For the last few years, I have been a consultant to the owner of this property” is rolled out by author Bob Ransford. The entire article is a PR spin from a hireling of the developer. A statement such as “productive agriculture would be integrated with a mixed-use walkable community,” gives us rosy visions of future farmer residents that have given up driving. Scant mention is made of actual roads, stores, houses, apartments and townhouses that would be built on the agricultural zoned farmland. Other high priced development consultants are being imported from Miami, Boston, Chicago and Washington, DC. to help push this plan through. Do they know that in addition to being zoned agriculturally and designated for agriculture within the Tsawwassen Area Plan, the Southlands are also part of the Metro Vancouver (GVRD) Green Zone and that 94% of the residents previously rejected any development on the farmland? Fasten your seatbelts. The PR spin is about to rev up.
I really appreciate this awesome website and all the work that went into it. It's important to plant the seeds of opposition for the Southlands developement before it's too late. Tsawwassen is already becoming overpopulated. Tsawwassen's 'smallness' and proximity to open greenspace is the reason I chose to raise my family here.
While I appreciate the passion with which you’ve created this extensive website, I find you to be wildly misinformed.
The vision for a “Southlands in Transition” is supportive of many of the elements you so fondly and nostalgically catalogue, such as farming to name but one. However, what you neglect to include in your list is a receipt for previous farmers’ pesticide, herbicide, and fertilizer usage in order to ‘grow’ such bountiful crops: the devastating effects on soil, biodiversity (and community health) of swaths of monoculture, the legacy of which you apparently support. Keeping informed of the worldwide conversation on food culture would undoubtedly alarm your nostalgic sensitivities.
Also missing is a contemporary perspective on how we citizens of South Delta live today, how we can use the mistakes of our past to remedy the future.
Perhaps you will allow me to focus on just one of your less informed perspectives: the restoration of two barns from the Spetifore, by Century, both of which received heritage awards. Also, the restoration, seed money, and development of Cammidge House--all donated--are but a small overview of present-day changes, all positive.
Live in the past and stay there, if you will. But I believe (although not initially) that an exciting, informed, wonderful, inviting, positive future is to be had in the new Southlands in Transition. I invite you to the Open House on Sunday from 11 to 4. I love a good argument, so I hope to see you there.
Any receipts of previous farmers’ pesticide, herbicide, and fertilizer usage would be appreciated as would any information pertaining to agriculture or development on the land. Please forward them to me and I will post them on the site.
Since this site is almost entirely composed of documents from newspapers, municipal archives, government correspondence and the like, I would ask where you think I have been misinformed. If an article I have published is not cited correctly, or if there is some statement you feel is factually incorrect, it should be easy enough to point it out explicitly. Please do so.
I would further respectfully request that you send any documents that you feel would be useful to a greater understanding of the Southlands to dave.staniforth@yahoo.com
Any objections to monoculture or farming practices in general I suggest you present to the Delta Farmers Institute. I am sorry if farming in Delta is felt by you to have such negative effects for our community. Have you felt this way for a long while, and if so, what have you done about it?
The restorations that you refer to: according to the Southlands in Transition website, the large barn has recently been restored by Earthwise and I'm not sure any awards have been given. The other barn has been converted into a meeting hall to forward the devlopment proposal in question. Cammidge House was restored through a multi-partner effort and I commend Century for their contributions. I am unsure what any of these things have to do with the current proposal to put housing on prime farmland. Perhaps you could enlarge on this point.
I read with disgust and anger Bob Ransfords article in Saturdays Sun. His so-called concern for 30,000 new residents and how they can be accommodated. Really Bob isn't you're bank account that is your biggest concern. I too hope we can keep the Southlands from being ruined.
Comments
Mr. Duane Laird comes in last in municipal elections
South Delta Leader, November 6, 2008
At the all candidates meeting at the Delta Town & Country Inn on Nov.1st, the candidates were first asked how they feel about the developer’s—Century Group’s president Sean Hodgins—conceptual proposals for Southlands in Boundary Bay, which would see the agriculturally zoned land split into a third housing, a third farming and a third community amenities
"Only Duane Laird said outright he is in favour of the Southlands project."
It is interseting to note that Mr. Laird scored the lowest number of votes (3953) in the current 2008 Delta municipal election.
50 Years Ago????
I posted the following comment today (Nov. 10) on my blog on the "Southlands in Transition" page:
A recent (Nov 7, South Delta Leader) 1/2 page ad by Century Group states that the "inspiration behind these plans? It was quite simply, the sustainable, connected life that was lived in places like Tsawwassen just 50 years ago"
That would put us into 1958. There was no suburb called "Tsawwassen". Our postal address in South Delta was "Ladner, BC, RR#2. The Southlands were called Triple S Spetifore Farms and were actively farmed. The Town Centre Mall was an orchard. The Safeway Mall area was a potato farm. There were no traffic lights in South Delta. There was no Massey Tunnel or Hwy.17.
Fast forward 50 years to 2008. Stop go traffic lights every couple of blocks on 56th. Street. Strip malls. Heavy Delta Port truck traffic. Increasing volumes of BC Ferry generated car and truck traffic. Barely endurable rush hour back-ups at Hwy.10 & the Massey Tunnel.
And Century Group wishes to add an extra 2,000 dwellings built on top of good farmland and create more traffic congestion to our peninsula, which has only one exit road by adding hundreds of new commuters?
It does not remotely sound either like the sustainable or connected life of 50 years ago.
Letter to the Sun, May 15
I submitted this letter to the Vancouver Sun in response to their article, May 15, section B, "New Urbanist vision shapes proposal on former Spetifore Lands in Tsawwassen"
Dear Editor,
Re: New, greener Southlands future pondered, Van. Sun article May 15.
The proposed development of the Southlands in Tsawwwassen is another attempt by a developer to rezone agricultural land to gain huge profits.
A large development to build 1,800 units was proposed for this area in 1989, formerly known as the Spetifore Lands. The community rallied against it, and after the longest municipal public meeting in Canadian history, it was unanimously rejected.
Fast forward to today. The current owner, Century Holdings is proposing a development of 1,500 units and has spared no expense in a public relations excersise to project the plan as "green, livable, agricultural, walkable." Hardly a word is mentioned about houses, condos, roads and community traffic impacts.
Take away the PR spin, and it is another attempt to pave over productive farmland in exchange for windfall profits, estimated by some to be $150,000,000. Century Holdings purchased agricultural land on spec with no intention of ever farming it. The "Greener future" they envision comes in the form of a substantial cash crop.
Peter Nemeth
Letter to the Vancouver Sun
I recently wrote a 'letter to the editor' to the Vancouver Sun in response to a "Special to the Sun" article by Rob Bansford, promoting the development of the Southlands. It has not been published.
Re: How yesterday's 'Spetifore lands' became today's 'Southlands', May 3, 2008
One doesn’t need to read too far into the “Special to the Sun” article regarding the proposed development on the Southland property, before “For the last few years, I have been a consultant to the owner of this property” is rolled out by author Bob Ransford. The entire article is a PR spin from a hireling of the developer.
A statement such as “productive agriculture would be integrated with a mixed-use walkable community,” gives us rosy visions of future farmer residents that have given up driving. Scant mention is made of actual roads, stores, houses, apartments and townhouses that would be built on the agricultural zoned farmland.
Other high priced development consultants are being imported from Miami, Boston, Chicago and Washington, DC. to help push this plan through.
Do they know that in addition to being zoned agriculturally and designated for agriculture within the Tsawwassen Area Plan, the Southlands are also part of the Metro Vancouver (GVRD) Green Zone and that 94% of the residents previously rejected any development on the farmland?
Fasten your seatbelts. The PR spin is about to rev up.
Peter Nemeth
Boundary Bay
awesome website
I really appreciate this awesome website and all the work that went into it. It's important to plant the seeds of opposition for the Southlands developement before it's too late. Tsawwassen is already becoming overpopulated. Tsawwassen's 'smallness' and proximity to open greenspace is the reason I chose to raise my family here.
The Southlands
To Whom It May Concern:
While I appreciate the passion with which you’ve created this extensive website, I find you to be wildly misinformed.
The vision for a “Southlands in Transition” is supportive of many of the elements you so fondly and nostalgically catalogue, such as farming to name but one. However, what you neglect to include in your list is a receipt for previous farmers’ pesticide, herbicide, and fertilizer usage in order to ‘grow’ such bountiful crops: the devastating effects on soil, biodiversity (and community health) of swaths of monoculture, the legacy of which you apparently support. Keeping informed of the worldwide conversation on food culture would undoubtedly alarm your nostalgic sensitivities.
Also missing is a contemporary perspective on how we citizens of South Delta live today, how we can use the mistakes of our past to remedy the future.
Perhaps you will allow me to focus on just one of your less informed perspectives: the restoration of two barns from the Spetifore, by Century, both of which received heritage awards. Also, the restoration, seed money, and development of Cammidge House--all donated--are but a small overview of present-day changes, all positive.
Live in the past and stay there, if you will. But I believe (although not initially) that an exciting, informed, wonderful, inviting, positive future is to be had in the new Southlands in Transition. I invite you to the Open House on Sunday from 11 to 4. I love a good argument, so I hope to see you there.
Warm regards,
Cliona Ryan-Glennon
Any receipts of previous
Any receipts of previous farmers’ pesticide, herbicide, and fertilizer usage would be appreciated as would any information pertaining to agriculture or development on the land. Please forward them to me and I will post them on the site.
Since this site is almost entirely composed of documents from newspapers, municipal archives, government correspondence and the like, I would ask where you think I have been misinformed. If an article I have published is not cited correctly, or if there is some statement you feel is factually incorrect, it should be easy enough to point it out explicitly. Please do so.
I would further respectfully request that you send any documents that you feel would be useful to a greater understanding of the Southlands to dave.staniforth@yahoo.com
Any objections to monoculture or farming practices in general I suggest you present to the Delta Farmers Institute. I am sorry if farming in Delta is felt by you to have such negative effects for our community. Have you felt this way for a long while, and if so, what have you done about it?
The restorations that you refer to: according to the Southlands in Transition website, the large barn has recently been restored by Earthwise and I'm not sure any awards have been given. The other barn has been converted into a meeting hall to forward the devlopment proposal in question. Cammidge House was restored through a multi-partner effort and I commend Century for their contributions. I am unsure what any of these things have to do with the current proposal to put housing on prime farmland. Perhaps you could enlarge on this point.
Great website! I had no idea
Great website! I had no idea that there had been so many proposals for that farm. I hope we in Tsawwassen can keep that area from being ruined.
Vancouver Sun Article
I read with disgust and anger Bob Ransfords article in Saturdays Sun. His so-called concern for 30,000 new residents and how they can be accommodated. Really Bob isn't you're bank account that is your biggest concern. I too hope we can keep the Southlands from being ruined.