I have recently read an article by Mary Marcotte, Area H Director for the CVRD, regarding the municipal boundary expansion in Area H. Upon inquiring further, I am shocked to learn that the Town of Ladysmith is looking to expand into Area H north of the Diamond.
As a resident of the Diamond for more than 25 years, I have enjoyed the rural lifestyle that the Diamond has to offer.
We have already lost land on the east side of the highway to industrial business. If the Town decides to go forward with this, we as Diamond residents will be completely surrounded by the Town’s borders. It will be inevitable at some point that we will be gobbled up by the Town, and the sad part is that we will not have a vote. I am almost certain our taxes will rise and we will probably not receive any new services for the tax increase. What has happened to our democratic process called voting? We live here because we want to maintain a rural lifestyle.
I will be notifying our [incumbent] MLA, Doug Routley, to see where he stands on this issue. I urge all residents of the Diamond to do the same. I would certainly hope that the Town would notify our director, Mary Marcotte, before making any decisions that would affect so many of the residents in Area H.
Eileen Campbell
Area H