In response to the letter ”In defence of Sidney council’s consultative process” in the March 23 Peninsula News Review: I was at the Feb. 13 meeting you speak of, and had feelings of my own about the way certain council members addressed speakers who utilized the ‘public participation period’ to bring up their concerns for the proposed development. I have since brought these concerns up with our mayor in a one-on-one meeting. I applaud the letter writer from March 2 for speaking up.
The March 23 letter lacks accurate context. Firstly, the street is Fifth Street, not Fifth Avenue, and secondly, your reference to a half a dozen townhomes is an incorrect account for the 16 that will be built there (where three homes were previously) and in addition to the 72 being built directly beside (where none were previous). This will greatly impact the neighbourhood. Furthermore, the residents near this development have a right to voice concerns, this is their hometown as much as anyone else’s. I wholeheartedly wish more residents felt they could get involved and help to shape/guide our growing town.
Residents can sign up to receive meeting agendas and development notifications from the www.sidney.ca website. Finally, your suggestion for residents to sell out at a profit to developers and move to another portion of town is preposterous, and the subject for a whole separate letter to the editor.
Sandra Pettinger
Sidney