Editor:
I have visited the Sunshine Coast every year since December 1976 and so have seen many changes. When I became a permanent resident in 2008, I read my copy of the Sechelt OCP and its updates and attended many council meetings. Almost every planning application received approval, including the massive Sangara project in West Sechelt. The SCRD is now very concerned about the shortfall in water supplies forecast for 2035 (Coast Reporter, Dec. 21).
I used to ask the simple question, “What are the limits to growth here in Sechelt and on the Coast?” The silence was deafening. It is not simply a question of water storage and treatment, but all our services have limitations – ferry capacity, social and affordable housing, social services and special needs, highway capacity, emergency services in general and disaster services in particular, hospital services where for so many consultations and treatments we must travel to Vancouver. Readers will think of many other examples.
After one meeting, one councillor did take me to one side and explain that “there are no limits to growth. We must maintain jobs in construction and increase the tax base.” Our dear leaders are safe in the knowledge that when the proverbial hits the fan they will have moved on. Many service providers have their own budget constraints, and the Sunshine Coast is not high on their priority list. As our population keeps right on growing and we continue to increase the number of tourists, then something must give. There is nothing new here. No one involved in the decision-making process can ever say, “I did not know.”
Paul Rhodes, Sechelt
