After weeks of community discussion and debate, the issue around developing condominiums at Westview Park was thankfully put to rest by council.
While Mayor Mussallem may say otherwise, pulling the Westview development off the table in the middle of the process was unquestionably the right call. The fact that four council members — Councillors Kinney, Ashley, Carlick-Pearson and Thorkelson — had already publicly spoken about their opposition to the idea, meant the idea was dead in the water before it went any further. Why waste the time of an already strained staff pursuing something that would be voted down in the end anyway? The fact that this was proposed for an existing park clearly raised the ire of people tired of losing public spaces.
Now that this project is definitively off the table, council will have to turn their attention to the question of where to develop as the community grows in the years ahead. It shouldn't be too problematic, given the more than 3,000 potential housing units identified in the Official Community Plan. When those discussions take place, expect some opposition from those in the nearby neighbourhoods.
Let's face it, nobody who has purchased a home with a treed backyard or overlooking a wooded area want that view to change or want to have their peaceful days broken up with heavy equipment and construction. It's simple NIMBY — Not in My Backyard. It's a pretty understandable reaction. If someone wanted to tear down the woods near my place I would probably fight it too.
The thing is, it's tough to fight development in an area zoned for development, and Prince Rupert is going to need development to grow. While people in town are going to want to keep the status quo in terms of their surroundings, the status quo will not do when it comes to meeting the future growth Prince Rupert is going to need to meet its potential as a gateway to Asia.
So while council got the message to leave parks alone, not everywhere can be treated like a park.