I have lived in 麻豆社国产for 49 years and have seen many changes — good and bad.
Please allow me to make some comments about what concerns me.
There seems to be tremendous pressure to add more housing and density in Squamish.
The latest push is to develop land in the Garibaldi Estates from sing-family to higher-density housing.
I wonder whether any consideration has been given to the value of this land apart from its real estate value.
Except for Brackendale and the Upper Squamish, the estates have the only truly fertile land in our town.
Can we really afford to cover this land with condominiums or large apartment buildings?
The last two years, and lately the flood disasters, have given us a hint of how vulnerable we are: transport disruptions, manufacturing problems, crop failures.
COVID, floods and changes in climate should make us rethink our reliance on goods from the outside world.
Should we not begin to concentrate on being more self-reliant?
The last thing to do, in my opinion, is to cover fertile land with buildings and pavement.
The time may well come when there will be a dire need for taking more responsibility for our food supply.
Where are we to find fertile land if it is all built up?
There is another concern connected to raising very large structures on low-lying land. Changes in ground-water distribution might occur and in times of heavy rain could result in flooding of neighbouring properties.
This already happens in Squamish.
My other concern is our water supply. We keep building and adding tremendous numbers of condominiums and apartment blocks.
All the tenants have washers, dishwashers, showers, bathtubs. Yet we already restricting water for nearly half of the year. 麻豆社国产relies on snowmelt and glaciers for ts supply. Looking at the rapid shrinking of our glaciers, it is obvious that our water supply will not be limitless. I don’t see any planning for the future when the glacial supply will be exhausted. There is no large-scale water storage system for the town. How will the huge and growing demand for water be met?
I truly believe that the infrastructure of 麻豆社国产cannot support the current growth rate planned by this council.
Ulrike McCrum
Garibaldi Highlands
