Opposition To Wakamow Valley Development State Their Case
The public consultation to change the Official Community Plan may have been delayed until the new year but the opposition against a proposed upscale development in the Moose Jaw River Valley were out in full force at Monday evening’s regular Council meeting.
In what traditionally should have been a quiet meeting full of plattitudes and goodbyes as the final Council meeting before the Civic election was held was anything but that. As the Council chamber heard from four citizens and their accompanying supporters with the message “Leave Our Valley Alone.”
River Pointe Park is a proposed development to be located at 1155 7th Avenue SW and up until recently was the site of a former nursery.
In order for the proposed development to proceed Council must amend the Official Community Plan (OCP). At their September 21st meeting Council was asked by local developer Charles Vanden Broek to ammend the OCP to allow the development of 25.68 acres for upscale housing which proposes 29 single family units and 81 multi-family units in an area presently zoned as Long Term Community Service/Parks/River Valley Conservation.
Originally placed on the agenda to speak in the Public Forum portion of the meeting - where speakers are limited to five minutes and they are not asking for Council to do anything and there are no questions or response from Council - Councillor Heather Eby masterfully made a motion to move the speakers to the Committee of the Whole where the rules changed.
Speaking first Terri Bosner reminded Council and Administration who were the true bosses - the people and not a single developer.
“I’m here to remind you that the City Manager and administrator, Council and Mayor you all work for and are paid for by the residents of this city and you are accountable to us,” Bosner said.
She took direct aim at city manager Jim Puffalt for working so closely with the developer for 18 months and Council was unaware of what was happening.
“I am concerned about how we have arrived at this tenuous juncture in city planning and the lack of communication by the City Manager to the Mayor and City Council. I am appalled that the City Manager has been working autonomously with the land developer for a year and a half on this project,” Bosner said. “By definition the City Manager failed miserably in his position. Why isn’t the City Manager making a monthly report to the Mayor and Council on what exactly he is working on.”
Bosner felt money was wasted working with the developer on the proposal which was doomed to fail.
“I’m outraged community members were not consulted about proposed changes to the Official Community Plan before valuable civic resources were spent working with developers on projects that will not go forward.”
“On every previous occasion this commmunity has successfully opposed developments in the sacred Treaty Four lands and Metis homelands commonly referred to as the Wakamow Valley.”
“Taking the word of the developer’s architect from Alberta is like giving the fox the keys to the hen house. ”
Bosner went on to criticize Council for being out of touch with the community.
“How could the Mayor and Council be so unaware and uninformed about what is happening in the hallowed walls of City Hall? If you were this out of touch with the City Manager just how out of touch are you with the fine people of this community?”
She said that the scale of the project should have it treated differently than smaller residential projects.
“Some type of distinction must be made between the homeowner looking to change the carport on his garage and a conglomerate of financial investors backing a property owner with a parcel of land large enough to contain an entire residential neighbourhood subdivision.”
Bosner said Council needed to remember that the Official Community Plan belonged to the peiple.
“This is an Official Community Plan we are talking about. It is not a City Manager’s Plan or a land developer’s plan or an architect’s plan its a community plan,” she said. “The Official Community Plan was suppose to put an end to this nonsense. Why then are we even considering this proposal?”
Caron Berg Speaks
Caron Berg is the creator of the Facebook group ‘Leave Our Valley Alone’ which has grown from small beginnings to now over 1200 members.
“Every person in this group is important because they have at least ten friends they can tallk to,” Berg said.
She spoke about her parents who were well known in the South Hill community but since her dad’s passing in 2012 and her mother’s inability to speak she was their voice.
Berg said if her parents were still able to they would be spearheading the drive and she was standing in their place. She was also speaking for Nature who could not speak to Council.
“This valley has a special place not only in my heart but in the hearts of many including those who cannot speak being the animals and the beauty of nature…the valley is a place of serenity, peace, quiet and a place to go when you need to gather your thoughts. It is a place for the wildlife to be safe and free to live.”
Berg said the valley had special significance at the present time when struggling with the limitations that COVID - 19 had placed upon individual’s lives.
“If you are lucky you get to be up close to the wildlife and some incredible beauty. “
“Sure money and economy are always needed but there are lots of places for development in our city and the beauty of the valley should be cherished and preserved,” Berg said.
Todd Johnson - Wakamow Valley Authority
Todd Johnson is the general manager of the Wakamow Valley Authority who opposes the proposed development.
Wakamow opposes the development because of the negative effects they see it having on the entire Wakamow Valley.
Johnson spoke about the scrapbooks kept by the Wakamow Valley Authority and how they detailed the numerous articles surrounding citizens rallying to stop development in the vallay.
“To me it seems like opening the OCP will be like repeating history again. I know people are passionate about Wakamow Valley and the comfort it brings them.”
The scrapbooks detailed articles of numerous floods occuring over 67 years and not the one in 500 year scenario the developer was basing his design upon.
“Wakamow Valley Authority is going to be concerned about the water Mother Nature usually put on the ten acres of the property,” he said.
He said the Wakamow Valley Authority opposed opening the OCP.
Jan Radwanski - Presents A Neighbourhood Petition
As a resident within the 90 meters of the proposed development Jan Radwanski came to speak as well as to present a petition from area residents opposed to the development.
“We were able to submit signed petitons by 125 property owners within that 250 meter zone of which 74 are within the 90 meter zone. Which translates into about an 85 percent rate of opposition to this proposal,” Radwanski said. “We are really concerned about the legal notice. It was in the paper with a deadline this morining at 10 and this was going to be dealt with at 5:30.”
Radwanski said they “saw a subsequent notice that it would be dealyed until 2021. But knowing how legislation works we have complied with that. and have again 125 notices in total opposition to this project. And we just want to be on the record we did make that deadline that was required.”
“Many residents are very, very upset to this proposal.”
Following the speakers Councillor Swanson weighed in. Click here to continue.