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Ambleside inertia is deadly

An open letter to West Vancouver mayor and council: Seven years ago I met with a prospective landlord to discuss what my business had to offer Ambleside residents and to discover what Ambleside had to offer me.

An open letter to West Vancouver mayor and council:

Seven years ago I met with a prospective landlord to discuss what my business had to offer Ambleside residents and to discover what Ambleside had to offer me. I was shown a dynamic artist's rendition of what would be a thriving waterfront community consisting of art galleries and restaurants, shops and walkways and a functional dock that would encourage tourists with boats and larger scale yachts to discover West Vancouver's Ambleside. How fabulous, I thought.

Having spent a great deal of time in Naples, Fla. - a beautiful and very wealthy retirement town, but now a vibrant upscale resort destination - I could see Ambleside's tremendous potential in the drawing that was shown to me.

While I appreciate that what I was shown was a plan - a great one at that, and that nothing had been approved, it never occurred to me that I would be writing this letter seven years later because absolutely nothing has been done to draw residents to the area and encourage a thriving commercial community.

It is shameful, to say the least, that Ambleside, situated in what is considered the wealthiest postal code in Canada, has not been given the amenities, beautification and advertising campaigns so desperately needed in order to draw traffic to the area.

So many of the merchants on Bellevue Avenue and Marine Drive - including myself, have had to reinvent and diversify their businesses in order to keep the handful of discerning West Van customers who support our businesses interested.

On March 28, I attended the Grosvenor Ideas Fair for the merchants with architect James Cheng. I was so frustrated that I pulled him aside to try to understand what the plans were for the redevelopment of the 1300-block on Marine Drive. He gets it! We need to offer world-class developments, services, restaurants and shops etc. in order to provide the residents who want to support the community with a reason to do just that.

Why is it that we as business owners understand what is needed but council does not? What is everyone afraid of?

I also attended the presentation of the Park Royal expansion and very clearly they get it and they are acting on it! The first phase has been approved and they are focusing on an upscale shopping experience in every way.

Pedestrian traffic on Bellevue has decreased by at least 50 per cent in the past seven years - due in part to the opening of the Village in Park Royal, residents downsizing and relocating to more vibrant communities. The lack of density in Ambleside has seriously impaired businesses' ability to thrive and the Park Royal expansion will draw even more business away from us.

Nature has provided us with the ocean front - and it is lovely - but it does not pay my rent which increases every year as do the property taxes.

This letter has taken up a great part of my only day off - I hope that you seriously consider the content as our businesses are at risk.

It is time for council to take action and move forward with the projects at hand without further delay.

Sharon Harford, owner Prêt-a-Porter Luxe, West Vancouver