Letter: Developer controlled council not what we voted for

Letter: Developer controlled council not what we voted for Published 1:51 pm Tuesday, July 14, 2026 Dear North Cowichan Mayor & Council, and Premier David Eby: No Coun.

Letter: Developer controlled council not what we voted for Published 1:51 pm Tuesday, July 14, 2026 Dear North Cowichan Mayor & Council, and Premier David Eby: No Coun. Findlay, a seeming developer-controlled council is certainly not what we voted for.

Your guest column posted by the Citizen July 3, 2026 appears to reaffirm you are arguably bent on amending our official community plan (OCP) to legally help some businesses, plus developers to build more housing against residents’ and professional staff advice. That’s sure not what most folks voted for, perhaps outside of your supporters. That’s not what hundreds of residents voted for when supporting our updated OCP guiding smart growth by curbing ugly urban sprawl and unaffordable housing.

Cogently ‘woke’ folks regularly address council to oppose motions you and councillors Manhas, Caljouw and Hogg reportedly approve contrary to our OCP’s Urban Containment Boundary (UCB) designed to control sprawl. We are glad you state our OCP is indeed a “bible” carved in a prescient bylaw you and others arguably challenge. Is that what you mean about “creating more or less freedom for our residents”?

We hope not. You report a developer told you, “if you let us developers loose, we will build to our own detriment.” Rampant sprawl boosting housing while reducing home prices would be to our great municipality’s detriment.

Coun. Findlay, you fail to mention North Cowichan taxpayers face a $360 plus-million shortfall just to upgrade our water and sewer lines plus other infrastructure needed to build the homes you envision. Tragically, you further fail to cite ideas to attract new businesses to provide critically needed jobs — plus tax revenues to shrink that big infrastructure bill.

No Coun. Findlay, we did not vote for your questionably exclusive leadership. Please do not run in our Oct. 17 civic election.

Yours in democracy and smart growth, Peter W. Rusland North Cowichan