Sechelt Council:
I have lived and worked in Sechelt for 41 years and truly value the ambience and beauty of our small town. What makes Sechelt attractive, I believe, is the rural-type flavour and this includes our waterfront access and trees.
We do need to maintain economic growth and jobs, and the downtown core will have to develop, of course. However, I adamantly oppose the extreme high-density development being proposed for the properties at the junction of Highway 101 and Shorncliffe Avenue.
This proposed development is between existing treed residential properties. One just has to visualize the existing Watermark development plunked into a residential waterfront area (but with much higher density and parking lot) to see how horrendous this would be. Sechelt has already allowed a wall of residential properties along the waterfront in the downtown core, with virtually all trees removed. This wall should not be allowed to be extended along this beautiful stretch of beach and waterfront. Further wholesale tree removal should no longer be allowed (at this development or any other subdivision). Developers in virtually every subdivision in Sechelt in the last 10 years have been allowed to do this, which is both environmentally and aesthetically damaging and unacceptable.
Please say absolutely no to this proposal. Please have the vision to encourage any development of such a nature to be placed in the de facto commercial area behind (north of) Cowrie Street in the town centre where ocean views will not be obstructed and waterfront access not hindered.
Brian Myhill-Jones, Sechelt
