Re: Esquimalt planning advisers reject McLoughlin sewage plan,” June 20.
In response to the decision, Capital Regional District denise Blackwell said: “I knew Esquimalt was going to put up roadblocks.”
What Blackwell fails to highlight is that the CRD is not willing to mitigate impacts to the host community. Prime examples are the significant impacts and safety issues associated with traffic during construction, which could be largely eliminated with barging to the site. Barging has been done previously on the property.
She also said that if the municipality does not rezone, it would lose $100,000 in permit fees and $950,000 in bike and walking path upgrades. The CRD has never once discussed benefits with the community of Esquimalt. In fact it has consistently stated that it is not willing to do so. The municipality will lose $54,000 every year to lost taxes. The CRD suggests that the powerlines and water pipes to the sewage plant are community benefits. They have also proposed bike improvements along roadways damaged by construction they are already responsible to fix. These are not real benefits.
If the CRD has any hope of convincing people that it will be a good neighbour, it’s time for them to get dead serious about mitigating impacts and bringing something meaningful to the table in terms of community benefits. These are not roadblocks; these are the basic rights and reasonable expectations of any potential host community.
Kim Bellefontaine
Esquimalt
