Editor:
A wearisome procession of highly vocal critics went on the attack at the March 10 public hearing on updates and revisions of the Gibsons official community plan (OCP).
The problem was that, in the main, they were attacking the wrong issue. Instead of commenting solely on the OCP, most of the critics chose to attack a proposal that has yet to come in final form before council — the George Hotel. Either directly or indirectly, that was their main target.
If the OCP was referred to, it was with strident demands for ironclad terminology that would effectively prevent any flexibility whatsoever to consider any meaningful development proposals. The speakers making these presentations and demands all too often resorted to exaggerations, misinformation, innuendo, accusations of conspiracies, direct personal attacks on Mayor Rowe and Town staff and even threats of legal action.
How sad that this minority group considers such behaviour acceptable and feels that they can act so irresponsibly with impunity. How ironic, too, that all the while they claim to represent “the people of Gibsons.”
It seems they don’t understand the decisive results of last November’s election, in which the people of Gibsons spoke so loudly and so clearly for issues to be considered in an objective, civil and collaborative manner.
As a well-known song goes, “When will they ever learn?”
Art Olson, Gibsons
