Are Langford Officials Biased? - Why the mayor, deputy mayor, and chief planner should step down, and why everyone else should speak up
by Zoe Blunt
On April 6, Langford City Council is expected to adopt a development re-zoning bylaw for South Skirt Mountain, located between the new interchange on Highway 1 and Bear Mountain Resort.

 

 

Four landowners propose to build roads and condo towers with 2800 units adjoining Goldstream Provincial Park to the west and Florence Lake to the east. North of the interchange, a half-built road (Bear Mountain Parkway) zig-zags up South Skirt Mountain to Bear Mountain Resort.

In their haste to approve this development, we submit that Langford's mayor and council have acted in bad faith, ignored due process, and disrespected procedural fairness. In addition, their application for a federal grant for the road and the interchange appears to violate the Community Charter, which prohibits municipalities from giving cash grants and other handouts to private companies.

 

If the development re-zoning is adopted, VIC FAN is prepared to file a petition to quash the bylaw in BC Supreme Court.

We suggest the best way to restore the public's trust in this council is for Mayor Young, Denise Blackwell, and Matthew Baldwin to resign immediately. The second option would be for all three to recuse themselves from Skirt Mountain-related files and ask an independent agency to open an investigation into this deeply-flawed process.

Mayor Stew Young

- We note that at least two of Young's businesses, Alpine Fence and Alpine Disposal, appear to benefit directly from development at Bear Mountain.
- Young is also a member of Bear Mountain's $35,000 golf and country club, according to a document obtained by VIC FAN that appears to be the club's 2007 membership list. Link: http://www.geocities.com/greenmonkeyradio/Members-List.pdf
- Young's behaviour during the public process indicates to us that he is not capable of being open-minded or fair regarding development on Skirt Mountain.

Deputy Mayor Denise Blackwell

- We understand that Blackwell's position as Administrative Assistant at the provincial Archaeology Branch does not conflict with her role on Langford's council, as long as she refrains from mixing provincial and municipal business
- However, it seems Blackwell crossed that line when she wrote a letter to the Goldstream Gazette stating that there are no sacred sites on Skirt Mountain. ("Misinformation mars interchange project," January 16, 2008.)
- Blackwell says that a member of the Archaeology Branch instructed Langford Council to withhold the South Skirt Mountain Archaeological Impact Assessment from the public. This raises questions about how the decision was reached, and whether Langford is seeking to overturn an existing BC Appeals Court judgment.
- Previous Archaeological Impact Assessments and other reports concerning Skirt Mountain apparently have been withheld from interested parties routinely for years.

Chief Planner Matthew Baldwin

- We have received several complaints about Baldwin behaving in an unprofessional manner toward those who may be critical of certain development projects, including reports that he is uncooperative, insulting, and obstructive to members of the public.
- In response to a letter that criticized the South Skirt development, Baldwin accused the letter-writer of "an utter lack of rigor for even the most basic research." He went on to name me and characterized my reports on the topic of South Skirt Mountain as "fanciful misinformation." He even suggested Langford should take legal action against the letter writer.
- Baldwin then copied the letter, with its defamatory statements, to the writer's employers. Link:
http://www.geocities.com/greenmonkeyradio/baldwin-2.pdf

In order to get a wider picture of potential abuses of power in Langford, we are asking for statements from those who feel they have been harassed by council, staff, developers, or their supporters, especially those who may have experienced threats to their livelihoods, threats of legal action, coercion, and selective bylaw enforcement. Anyone in this situation is welcome to come forward, either publicly or anonymously.

 

Furthermore, any witnesses to abuse of trust or illegal activity around Skirt Mountain are asked to tell their stories. People can remain anonymous with Caller ID block – dial *67 before the number from any phone. I can be reached at 250-885-8219.

An RCMP complaints investigation is underway concerning selective enforcement in Langford. Investigator Curt Acheson has promised to investigate all complaints, including anonymous ones. Contact cacheson@oberon.ark.com or phone 1-250-830-8353 (Nanaimo - collect calls accepted.)

Thank you to the watchdogs who call in their tips from pay phones and leave plain brown envelopes on our doorstep. Rest assured, we will follow up on all leads.

 

 

 

 

For immediate release – March 23, 2009
Zoe Blunt, Vancouver Island Community Forest Action Network (VIC FAN)
250-885-8219
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ZoeBlunt@gmail.com
http://forestaction.ca