Ginter's Green Forever asks council to take urban sprawl into our forests out of the Official Community Plan
-20 C is superior to +1 for the winter. Plus, two funky PG alcoholic beverages
Council day. Here’s tonight’s agenda:
Here’s some articles based on the info already available:
For the fourth time in six years, the snow clearing costs are over budget. I pointed this out the last time I wrote about the budget but every year, councillors talk about reducing the snow-clearing budget to help balance costs but nature is gonna determine whether it works out or not, so I’m not sure hoping the costs won’t be there is the way to approach things.
City staff report recommends council reject supportive housing plan for a proposed Christian, abstience-based supportive housing operation. The reason for recommended rejection is due to “noise, traffic and parking impacts”.
Relatively strong December caps off record year for building permits in Prince George.
Document outlines changes to Prince George's draft Official Community Plan. This article outlines some of the changes that were made and makes note of Ginter’s Green Forever’s open letter, which I’ll share in full below:
Ginter's Green Forever asks council to take urban sprawl into our forests out of the OCP
Dear Mayor and Council Members,
The following is a letter (also attached) from the organizers behind Ginter's Green Forever.
We are really happy that the roads through Ginter's Green have been removed from the OCP, including the Foothills extension to 22nd. Beyond that we are unsure exactly how Ginter's Green is protected in the OCP. We are concerned about the following:
The Future Land Use Schedule keeps the grey right-of-way from Massey to Ferry, rather than designating it as a park. We request that this area be officially designated in the Future Land Use Schedule as a park and have a plan to rezone all properties necessary as P1.
Concerning properties 015 070 531 and 015 069 815 (the subject properties that are for sale and that started Ginter's Green Forever 2.0); these must be removed from the Urban Containment Boundary. It is not an appropriate place for urban sprawl and even though it's private land, it is part of what people consider Ginter's Green. The area consists of steep slopes and is characterized by excessive seepage and runoff most of the year. It represents substantial risk for development but offers substantial value for climate change mitigation, erosion protection and urban forest values. The risks associated with the development of such properties is significant. We point to situations in other BC communities where such development on inappropriate lands have led to houses literally falling off sudden cliffs and deaths as residents died when their properties slid. Indeed we note Ginter’s Green was established when the house on the upper level was actually swept off its foundations. This opens the municipality to legal risk as well as decisions by individuals to view the community with disapprobation. Imagine standing at the Ginter's Mansion or at the end of Ferry and standing at the edge of developments - the visual quality of Ginter’s Green would be substantially diminished if there is development above the old house site. If these properties stay in the Urban Containment Boundary Ginter's Green will always be at risk for development. The properties are Rural Resource in the Future Land Use Schedule, so it seems like an easy ask to have them removed from the Urban Containment Boundary.
To ensure a long term vision for the area, the current Mayor and Council Members need to make a commitment. The people who love Ginter's are always asking us, haven't we protected it yet? With the roads gone, the right-of-way rezoned, and these properties removed from the Urban Containment Boundary, I think we could confidently say "YES". That would be a great legacy you can leave for the future of Prince George.
Our group has heard a lot of concern about the general lack of respect for urban forests in the OCP, including the north end of Moore's Meadow and the yellow area in the Growth Management Schedule on the escarpment and off Tyner Boulevard. The OCP is full of goals to make PG walkable and grow in a way that protects green space. Yet, when you look at the policies, the main policy to implement this is the Urban Containment Boundary, but it contains a significant amount of forest, especially on the escarpment. Urban forests offer the most value if they remain undeveloped. Because of this, Ginter's Green Forever is also requesting that the entire yellow part of the Urban Containment Boundary on the escarpment and Tyner Boulevard be removed. Please also remove the north end of Moore’s Meadow from the Urban Containment Boundary.
Ginter’s Green Forever is often asked if we are "anti-development" or we are asked where we would want development to happen? Our city has more than enough sites that could be used for true infill (i.e., brownfield development). So between brownfield development and a robust policy including mixed use development, we should be more than able to meet our housing needs. There should be mixed use opportunities in every neighbourhood and for every development, not only downtown. That's how you create a walkable city, prevent sprawl, and lower taxes (Have you watched Suburbia is Subsidized?
).
One final note on engagement. Almost three years ago our group was promised that the OCP would be the tool we could use to advocate to protect Ginter's Green and urban forests. We assumed that our group would be consulted for that purpose. We'd like to point out that we were only invited to one round table meeting. We were accused of "being over represented" when we organized to make sure folks came to public engagement sessions. There was never any real dialogue or collaboration. We bring this up, so that better consultation can be done in the future. We are also concerned that the public hearing is scheduled to be held over the school spring break. Because public consultation is so important to the OCP process, it seems like in this instance, it should be scheduled when more people are available to attend.
Sincerely,
Ginter’s Green Forever
Jenn Matthews
James Steidle
Kim Menounos
Lorne Clarke
Selene Maxwell
Shirley Burkinshaw
Dr. Zoë Meletis
Dr. Annie Booth
Union made
A 70th anniversary beer for the city’s birthday in 1976 from Pacific Western Brewing, 5.35 per cent — “union made.”
Killer find.
-20 C is superior to +1
Winer is coming to an end and I agree with this reddit user who writes:
At -20 degrees, at least everything is frozen. It's easy to get to places, if the roads are well shoveled. Your vehicle stays clean after a car wash. You don't get dirty water dripping on your head when walking in the parkade (as happened to me today). Yuck!
The muddy sludge is the worst. I literally turned around and abandoned by plan to visit the Post Office in Spruceland when I saw the condition of the parking lot. No way I want to walk in that f-ing mess unless I absolutely have to. Yuck!!
100 per cent my friend.
News roundup:
Prince George Airport Authority launches #NotInMyCity human trafficking awareness program at YXS.
Ukrainian community in Prince George gathers to mark third anniversary of Russian invasion,
Barkerville will launch shoulder season activities beginning May long weekend.
I need someone to review this for me:
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just an FYI - the Christian-based treatment/supportive housing says they are a registered charity with CRA. They have the CRA BN number posted on their website. I tried every possible search on the CRA charity listings and could not find any history tied to it, anywhere in Canada.
The information in the Citizen article raised other red flags about how they manage their finances, which is why I started poking around.