Re: “Farmland fight renewed,” The Leader, Aug. 1.
Surrey continues to grow at an astounding rate. Mayor Dianne Watts and the current council have a huge responsibility. They have done a yeoman’s service in park perpetuation and expansion. Many of our parks, especially Bear Creek Park, provide a wonderful sanctuary of recluse and beauty.
At the same time, council has a heavy responsibility to perpetuate farm land. This land provides food, aesthetics and lungs. It’s very tempting to allow opportunists to convert these valuable assets into cash. And when need is great, deception follows.
The land’s arability is not an issue. This land was purchased at a low price because it was classified as farm land. The taxes were commensurately low. Now the owners want windfall profits.
Greed and hypocrisy can be understood, but should never be condoned. Council knows, as did its predecessors, that nature provided Surrey with generous assets of soil, trees, and water, and that we are simply its custodians.
This legacy must be passed on.
Thank you, Surrey Leader, for covering this issue. And thanks to people such as Peter Friend and his group for defending such a critically important issue.
G.L. Zaklan