Dear Editor:
Re: Highrises Proposed for Lower Capilano, May 28
The way the District of North Vancouver is rubber-stamping the "unprecedented"(over)development of the North Shore, one would almost be inclined to think that city council members are actually developers and not city planners. It is encouraging to see that at least one council member, Lisa Muri, has the insight to suggest we step back a moment and consider the implications all this growth has for the future. As it careens toward greater densification, North Vancouver is in danger of losing its identity as a great place to live, and if this isn't cause for pause, I don't know what is.
It seems that city council has adopted a new mantra: if there is a tree, cut it down and build a condo. Along Marine Drive and Lonsdale all we see is the homogenization of architecture: retail space on the bottom with condos on top. Buildings with any character are being replaced by cookie-cutter storefronts that are hardly inviting to shoppers. Maybe it is time to tweak the "community plan" a bit. Let's look after the needs of those already here before thinking about amenities garnered from developers and increased tax revenue generated by those moving into these new condos.
Proposed development at the intersection of Capilano and Marine will devour an "outdated" hotel and a "gas station." In recent years we also lost two other gas stations, one on Lonsdale and another on Third Street. Have there been any replacements for these services? Soon a third filling station will be gone. At this rate it won't be long before we will have to wait in gas line-ups to have the privilege of paying outrageous prices at the pump. Almost seems like some oblique plan to encourage us to use public transit.
Rolfe Welker
North Vancouver
