EDITOR,
I read with interest the many comments in last week's paper regarding logging and industry, the Seventh Avenue connector, the Estuary, and the revitalization of our downtown. First and foremost let me say thank you to Scott McQuade for echoing my views about yet another downtown community discussion process. I've lost track of how many processes I have participated in but the one that stands out the most is the Smart Growth on the Ground Downtown Squamish Concept Plan. We have organizations such as the Squamish Estuary Management Committee that bring all the various stakeholders in the entire downtown core together. As well, we have the Upper Mamquam Blind Channel Study to address specific areas. I enjoyed reading how Mayor Kirkham thinks a new study is not only needed but how this new study will not just sit on a shelf! Yes, to think that every other process was intended to do nothing more than collect dust on the district shelves. Then there is Coun. Race, who states the "downtown transformation initiative is rooted in economic development" one day and then the next states "wherever the industry ends up, it doesn't belong downtown." Really, why? Is the estuary more suited for industry and development than our existing industrial land base along Loggers Lane? I have lived in Squamish since 1992 and have worked closely with the logging and industrial sector. I have had the opportunity to restore sections of the Squamish Estuary to a productive and active site, reconnect the waters from the Mamquam River back into the Mamquam Blind Channel through the Mamquam Reunion project, and develop proactive management strategies by participating in the Cheakamus Water Use Plan and Strategic Salmon Recovery Plan for our watershed. I see people every day who are enjoying all that our estuary has to offer, fishing and enjoying our amazing salmon-bearing waterways, and moving to Squamish because of the accessible natural areas. While the green spaces and natural environment may draw people to Squamish (as it did to me over 20 years ago), what keeps families here is a viable place to work, including a strong industrial base. The existing log sorts are a perfect opportunity to combine water and land-based industry along with a vibrant location for public access (whether it remain logging or other industries). If I had $20 million I would buy up the waterfront lands and be out seeking proactive industries that could be constructed along our waterfront (and no, I am not talking about LNG-based development). I would concentrate on incorporating a Green Shores approach toward shoreline development that allows the intertidal zones of the Mamquam Blind Channel to function in a naturalized manner as we face global climate change and rising ocean levels. What I do not want to see is endless housing and retaining walls along the waterfront - a recipe for disaster in my books. We have some excellent strategies already for the downtown and if we are to keep our town economically sound, we need to diversify and embrace the triple bottom line which includes a balance of social, economic, and environmental development. Or we could just sit down and develop yet another "vision" and keep on talking as opportunities pass us by and our downtown shops and business owners disappear one by one... oh, right, they already are disappearing!
Edith Tobe, RPBio
Squamish
