Editor,
”They paved paradise and put up a parking lot.
Don’t it always seem to go, that you don’t know what you got ‘til it’s gone.
They took all the trees, and put em in a tree museum
And they charged the people a dollar and a half to see them”
Way back in 1970, a songwriter named Joni had a vision, but not a good one. So does Canadian Horizons. A Surrey developer who feels the need to ‘pave Paradise’. I am one of 13,000+ people who are opposed to CH’s mega subdivision development plan for the Naramata Bench. The Naramata Bench is not Surrey, B.C., nor do we want it to be. Why have tourists been coming to the Bench for years? The ambiance, the beauty, the greenspace.
Discover Naramata’s description of Naramata and Bench: “The journey to Naramata begins with sinuous curves in the road, a growing sense of well-being as you leave behind city life and delve into the heart of wine country. You leisurely make your way along the Naramata Bench, meander through vineyards and orchards, past wineries and charming bed and breakfasts, all the while bathed in sun and overlooking shimmering Okanagan Lake”. They also describe its “tranquil ambiance, artisans, quiet streets surrounding the heart of this Village, scenic patchwork of working farms, orchards and vineyards that roll up the gentle slopes of the Bench, all steeped in an idyllic village lifestyle.” Neither tourists nor residents describe the Bench for its mega subdivisions, or throngs of vehicles. It’s the Jewel of the Okanagan.
Do we want this developer ‘gouging’ our hillsides, deterring and displacing wildlife, adding volumes of vehicles to our only road, and impeding traffic flow? I think not. Let our 13,000 resound loud and clear. Don’t ruin the Bench. Don’t destroy our ‘prized possession’, our ‘valuable gem’, and ‘pave paradise’.
Barbara Smallwood
A Concerned Naramata Resident