FRANKLY, we agree with Lynn Valley resident Connie Fay. The proposed highrises in the town centre look "like the Olympic Village stuck in Lynn Valley."
They are so completely out of character with everything that is there now that we wonder how the two preliminary proposals could have been drafted without some sort of encouragement from municipal staff.
Councillors' response to the stated opposition from 200 or more residents who packed town hall Monday night was instructive. It varied from the well-received call from Coun. Lisa Muri to slow the pace of development to the wilfully simplistic characterization of Coun. Robin Hicks that "we're part of a major city metropolis."
That will come as news to the majority of Lynn Valley residents.
The implication that Lynn Valley will die without the densification contemplated in the OCP from a couple of councillors is also hard to swallow, verging as it does on the alarmist. Eastview elementary finds a continuing crop of youngsters from its surrounding townhouses and condo complexes, while Ross Road had a waiting list last time we checked. Even with only the approved townhouses going forward, it seems unlikely Lynn Valley elementary is in danger of closing anytime soon. Trying to justify highrises by the "need" for young families is just silly.
It was left to Coun. Roger Bassam to offer one of the saner responses: that the crux of the needed conversation with residents is "form and character."
Lynn Valley residents will accept some densification, but there are other places for highrises on the North Shore.
