Wiping the Forest off the Map
by Zoe Blunt
 Please join us Wednesday, January 21 from 4:30 to 7 pm in Langford, as we bear witness to new plans to bulldoze and subdivide the south side of SPAET (Skirt) Mountain. The city is promoting more development on the Bear Mountain Parkway, directly uphill from the Bear Mountain Interchange (Highway 1 west of Spencer Road.) This development will wipe out some of the remaining traditional sites on the mountain, including the Guardian Rocks and the canyon.
Langford Open House on Development News advisory - for immediate
release. Jan 20, 2009 Contact: Zoe Blunt 250-885-8219 (phone is fixed
now) Photo ops: Presentation and maps, developers, environmentalists,
etc. Wed Jan 21, 4:30 - 7 pm, West Shore Ballroom of the Four Points
Sheraton Hotel, 829 McCallum Road off Millstream (north of Highway 1 in
Langford.)
On the ridge above the development area stands SPAET Cave, which was blasted open in late 2006 during construction of the Bear Mountain golf course. In the past year, natural wetlands on the slope were filled with tonnes of broken rock while watercourses were diverted into culverts, leading to flooding and erosion below the interchange site. Flagging tape and survey stakes cover the hillside, and it appears that clearing of Garry Oak and arbutus groves could begin at any time.
Langford Open House on Development News advisory - for immediate
release. Jan 20, 2009 Contact: Zoe Blunt 250-885-8219 (phone is fixed
now) Photo ops: Presentation and maps, developers, environmentalists,
etc. Wed Jan 21, 4:30 - 7 pm, West Shore Ballroom of the Four Points
Sheraton Hotel, 829 McCallum Road off Millstream (north of Highway 1 in
Langford.)
Everyone who is concerned about the ongoing destruction of SPAET should come, look, and listen. Presentations will be made with large-scale maps. Please bring cameras to record these documents. "Public input" is requested, but even more important is gathering information. The Open House is hosted by the city's PR firm, the Tartan Group, which promises "a sustainable community for Langford." The public event - 4:30 to 7 pm, Wednesday January 21 - is at the West Shore Ballroom of the Four Points Sheraton Hotel, 829 McCallum Road off Millstream.
On Monday, January 26, the city Planning and Zoning Committee will discuss the application to rezone 211 acres as a new "Comprehensive Development Zone to allow for the development of a new Comprehensive Mixed-Use Development (sic)." The meeting begins at 7 pm in the council chambers, 877 Goldstream Ave.
Image link: City of Langford "Development Concept Plan" for South Skirt Mountain
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3529/3197983623_8a6a956bce_b.jpg
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ZoeBlunt@gmail.com
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