March 11, 2009
The Surrey Civic Coalition gave a cautious endorsement to the State of the City address by SurreyFirst Mayor Dianne Watts today.
SCC Vice President Stephanie Ryan applauded announcements that Surrey City Centre would be deemed an Economic Investment Zone, meaning sustainable development in City Centre would become a priority and that high-density commercial applications would take priority.
“We think this is good news for everyone in Surrey who has been waiting for a second downtown core south of the Fraser to be built,” said Ryan.
Ryan hopes that such priority-processing will help fast-track the process, but cautioned that giving substantial breaks in property taxes, permit fees, and development cost charges (DCCs) to business-related projects in City Centre could wreak long-term havoc on the city’s finances and will ultimately mean a higher tax burden for residents.
To Mayor Watts’ point that the Crime Reduction Strategy effectively targets the root causes of crime, Ryan responded that SCC’s school trustee team knows that a good-quality, fully-funded public education system is the best way to prevent crime.
“We know that for so many of the gangsters making news headlines lately the school system failed to equip them with the tools and skills they needed to succeed in a crime-free lifestyle. Making sure that every student, especially those at-risk, gets a chance to succeed in the public system and to become a productive citizen remains a priority for SCC," she said.
As for the biggest challenge for Council, Ryan said it would be to handle competing demands to occupy vacant industrial lands and to finally focus commercial development within Surrey City Centre.
“We saw in the past that when development wasn’t happening quickly enough in City Centre Council opted to approve many office and business park developments throughout the Newton Industrial Core, resulting in an inefficient use of that land and a real lost opportunity for the development of Downtown Surrey," said Ryan.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Letter to the Editor: Keep the 351 bus route
March 9, 2009
To the Editor,
It seems that TransLink continues to insist that it will axe the 351 bus route, from Crescent Beach to Vancouver, when the Canada Line finally comes to Richmond.
TransLink has long said that it would get rid of this bus route in favour of a feeder bus route that allows passengers to transfer onto the Canada Line to commute into downtown Vancouver, even in the face of community opposition.
This is a ridiculous decision by an organization that claims it wants to increase transit use.
Adding one or two more transfers for commuters who currently ride the 351 will likely move most of these people back into their cars. Who would really want to add time to their commute (given the transfers), and have to stand on a crowded SkyTrain car, when they previously were able to sit down on a comfortable seat for the entirety of their commute?
The decision by TransLink to axe the 351 bus route is completely unresponsive to the community's concerns, and indicative of the many problems associated with the privatization of TransLink's governance structure.
The Surrey Civic Coalition hopes TransLink will reverse its ill-thought out decision, and that Surrey City Council will speak out on this matter for commuters in South Surrey and White Rock.
By far the best solution is to keep the existing 351 bus route going directly to downtown Vancouver in addition to feeder buses that would connect with the new rapid transit line in Richmond.
The more choices commuters have, the better.
Stephanie Ryan
Vice President
Surrey Civic Coalition
To the Editor,
It seems that TransLink continues to insist that it will axe the 351 bus route, from Crescent Beach to Vancouver, when the Canada Line finally comes to Richmond.
TransLink has long said that it would get rid of this bus route in favour of a feeder bus route that allows passengers to transfer onto the Canada Line to commute into downtown Vancouver, even in the face of community opposition.
This is a ridiculous decision by an organization that claims it wants to increase transit use.
Adding one or two more transfers for commuters who currently ride the 351 will likely move most of these people back into their cars. Who would really want to add time to their commute (given the transfers), and have to stand on a crowded SkyTrain car, when they previously were able to sit down on a comfortable seat for the entirety of their commute?
The decision by TransLink to axe the 351 bus route is completely unresponsive to the community's concerns, and indicative of the many problems associated with the privatization of TransLink's governance structure.
The Surrey Civic Coalition hopes TransLink will reverse its ill-thought out decision, and that Surrey City Council will speak out on this matter for commuters in South Surrey and White Rock.
By far the best solution is to keep the existing 351 bus route going directly to downtown Vancouver in addition to feeder buses that would connect with the new rapid transit line in Richmond.
The more choices commuters have, the better.
Stephanie Ryan
Vice President
Surrey Civic Coalition
SCC opposes slots in the heart of Newton Town Centre
March 9, 2009
The Surrey Civic Coalition is opposed to SurreyFirst's plan to have slots in the heart of Newton Town Centre.
SCC Vice President Stephanie Ryan said the mayor’s group plans to go ahead with an application that would see a mini-casino at the site of the Newton bingo hall.
Ryan pointed out that the SCC has supported the city's existing gaming policy which allows for slot machines only in resort-style destination casinos.
Ryan said, "We think it's wrong that the City made a real effort to develop a comprehensive and sustainable gaming policy, and that Council is now eager to ignore it completely in the name of political opportunism."
Ryan acknowledged that most SurreyFirst councillors have voiced their support for the public hearing process and not necessarily for the development application itself, but expressed doubt that SurreyFirst “would dare to disappoint the developer by voting against the lucrative slot machines.”
Ryan acknowledged many social service agencies in Surrey rely on funding from similar community gaming services, calling this “a tragedy. It's high time the provincial government found more innovative ways of providing adequate funding for the community social services in this province.”
SCC believes “it's wrong that the province relies on gambling and gaming addiction to fund the agencies that help those community members most in need, many of them with addictions themselves", said Ryan.
The Surrey Civic Coalition is opposed to SurreyFirst's plan to have slots in the heart of Newton Town Centre.
SCC Vice President Stephanie Ryan said the mayor’s group plans to go ahead with an application that would see a mini-casino at the site of the Newton bingo hall.
Ryan pointed out that the SCC has supported the city's existing gaming policy which allows for slot machines only in resort-style destination casinos.
Ryan said, "We think it's wrong that the City made a real effort to develop a comprehensive and sustainable gaming policy, and that Council is now eager to ignore it completely in the name of political opportunism."
Ryan acknowledged that most SurreyFirst councillors have voiced their support for the public hearing process and not necessarily for the development application itself, but expressed doubt that SurreyFirst “would dare to disappoint the developer by voting against the lucrative slot machines.”
Ryan acknowledged many social service agencies in Surrey rely on funding from similar community gaming services, calling this “a tragedy. It's high time the provincial government found more innovative ways of providing adequate funding for the community social services in this province.”
SCC believes “it's wrong that the province relies on gambling and gaming addiction to fund the agencies that help those community members most in need, many of them with addictions themselves", said Ryan.
SCC offers a solution to truck parking in Surrey
February 12, 2009
The Surrey Civic Coalition will be fulfilling its campaign promise to the trucking community in Surrey this Monday when Councillor Bob Bose introduces a motion to allow for more truck parking in South Westminster.
The motion proposes to amend the zoning South of the Pattullo Bridge by deleting the IL-1 zone in its entirety, and will rezone the properties affected to IL zoning, which allows for truck parking.
Bob Bose explained, "It was a mistake in the first place to change the zoning in this neighbourhood to disallow truck parking. The IL-1 zoning in South Westminster does not allow for salvage uses, but all we've seen is a bunch of salvage that doesn't conform, and a lost opportunity."
Rina Gill, the SCC Council candidate who first brought this issue to the SCC's attention, said she is excited about the possibility of opening up hundreds of acres of truck parking for those who are so desperately looking for space.
"This has been a frustrating and costly exercise for the approximately 9,100 independent truckers registered in Surrey," according to Rina Gill. "Truckers have been telling me that they have been frustrated by the delay, and that they want answers now," she said.
Stephanie Ryan, Vice President with the SCC, said that the current situation of two-year temporary use permits for truck parking, is short-sighted and unsustainable. "It's disappointing that even with Councillor Gill's efforts to find a solution to the lack of truck parking, that no one was able to come up with a solution as simple as this one," said Ryan.
Ryan said that the action is just the first of many the Surrey Civic Coalition aims to bring to City Council as part of their progressive agenda.
The Surrey Civic Coalition will be fulfilling its campaign promise to the trucking community in Surrey this Monday when Councillor Bob Bose introduces a motion to allow for more truck parking in South Westminster.
The motion proposes to amend the zoning South of the Pattullo Bridge by deleting the IL-1 zone in its entirety, and will rezone the properties affected to IL zoning, which allows for truck parking.
Bob Bose explained, "It was a mistake in the first place to change the zoning in this neighbourhood to disallow truck parking. The IL-1 zoning in South Westminster does not allow for salvage uses, but all we've seen is a bunch of salvage that doesn't conform, and a lost opportunity."
Rina Gill, the SCC Council candidate who first brought this issue to the SCC's attention, said she is excited about the possibility of opening up hundreds of acres of truck parking for those who are so desperately looking for space.
"This has been a frustrating and costly exercise for the approximately 9,100 independent truckers registered in Surrey," according to Rina Gill. "Truckers have been telling me that they have been frustrated by the delay, and that they want answers now," she said.
Stephanie Ryan, Vice President with the SCC, said that the current situation of two-year temporary use permits for truck parking, is short-sighted and unsustainable. "It's disappointing that even with Councillor Gill's efforts to find a solution to the lack of truck parking, that no one was able to come up with a solution as simple as this one," said Ryan.
Ryan said that the action is just the first of many the Surrey Civic Coalition aims to bring to City Council as part of their progressive agenda.
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