The Editor,
Re: "Surrey's Biodiversity Conservation Strategy 'a legacy for the history books,'" the Now online.
The fact that Surrey's new Biodiversity Conservation Strategy will require some landowners seeking to develop within the city to do so in a "sustainable manner that protects and enhances biodiversity" certainly sounds impressive but appears to be little more than a green dream at the moment.
However, Surrey's Official Community Plan already calls for infill development that retains "existing trees and natural and heritage features in existing neighbourhoods, where possible, in order to preserve neighbourhood character and ecology."
I'd have much more faith in Surrey First council members abiding by these new policies had I not recently witnessed them violating so many of the existing ones, including the OCP, while voting to approve a controversial urban subdivision in our quiet suburban neighbourhood. In this subdivision, only 28 of 232 trees are slated to be retained, and most of those that will be chainsawed won't be replaced simply because there's no room for trees due to the high density of the new lots. Actions speak louder than words.
Gary Cameron, Surrey