Re: “Casino property ‘flipped,’ says city.”
A speculator flipped land, promises were broken, and a $25-million scheme failed. Surrey council placed its bets and we lost. Stop gambling with our city.
The public knows blind faith with development doesn’t work. The current city council has become slaves to big money and big promises.
The haphazard way Surrey council dealt with this casino application forced far too many people to take sides in the Newton casino plan. It pitted not-for-profit groups against the community and residents against not-for-profits – all because our mayor and council were once again led down the garden path by big promises from big money which turned out to be a big let down.
This is not the first failure of this kind for Surrey First. Look at the eyesore which was once a public market at 64 Avenue and King George Boulevard. There were long public hearings with many people fearing they would lose their livelihoods if the public market went from what it was to what an out-of-town developer wanted it to be. It is still closed.
Look at the 32 Avenue mess. Hundreds of residents demand council not slam a five-lane highway through the Morgan Creek neighbourhood of townhouses, condos and subdivisions. But Surrey council doesn’t listen and residents continue to fight city hall to this day.
Look at the environmental degradation at Campbell Heights. Look at our overcrowded schools with hundreds of portables.
Why? Because council continues to push the limits of growth further and further, to the point that even the city now builds developments in overcrowded school catchment areas.
We need long-term planning. We need a vision, not blind ambition. Time to wake up, council, and realize you represent us, the taxpayer.
Gary T. Robinson, SCC candidate for city Council