Editor,
An open letter to Surrey city council:
This plan to reduce streamside setbacks from 50 to 30 metres is a mistake which will have permanent negative impacts on the citizens of Surrey for the foreseeable future and short-term benefits to a very few developers' profits.
After the community involvement on display at the Dec. 2, 2024 city council meeting, where opposition was presented by Surrey citizens with actual deep historic, Indigenous, environmental, scientific and civil engineering backgrounds who stepped up to oppose the intrinsic and dangerous flaws in the project. This revised project, if completed, will do permanent and serious harm to the infrastructure, human habitat and citizens of Surrey. The lack of involvement of the Indigenous leaders was also a sad statement on the racism of the current leadership of Surrey.
I hoped for a time-out for the mayor and council and a review of practical options of streamlining the building approval process without destruction of the city's existing natural protective features. What we got was the same threatening loss of setback with minor tweaks which will not provide water run-off management and less than adequate protection as we move forward through the worsening climate emergency.
I also hope the mayor and council will deny this current proposal and focus on increasing trees/greenway areas to deal with increased number and severity of atmospheric rivers. Not a reduction of same. This will demonstrate that the City is focused on protection of Surrey's people, agriculture, housing, infrastructure and natural habitat.
Sincerely,
Robert Winston, Surrey
