We need to look beyond what is being presented to us at the surface as soccer fields for children and local sports clubs, to the turbulent truths that lie underneath. This proposal has been shrouded in a cape of political doublespeak and secrecy right from the beginning. It sprang into being fully formed, with absolutely no input from the general public like us. The referendum question itself was posed to make it sound as harmless as possible. At a council meeting on October 22, Councillor Bill Firman raised the question of why “gild the lily”. He requested to remove the bracketed section in the referendum question which states: “(this proposal is for change of use, not removal from the Agricultural Land Reserve)”. He challenged council to call it as it is – this land is really being requested to be removed from the ALR. Let’s not fool ourselves as to what this question really means. Let’s not fool ourselves either as to what this mega sports facility really represents - it’s not really about sports fields for children; it’s about something much different than that.
We are all aware of what we are being told at the surface level here – that these 118 acres of prime farm land on Aberdeen Road are being used for soccer fields for children, and green space. It doesn’t take much digging to get at the deeper truths. This prime farm land is being sacrificed for a mega sports tourism facility. Besides two baseball fields, four soccer pitches (two with lights), six slo-pitch/fastball fields, (two with lights) - there’s parking for 1000 vehicles, four dog agility fields, a banquet hall, storage, offices, washrooms, change rooms and bleachers, and most importantly, a fully lit stadium with a track and football field. This mega sports facility being proposed by Coldstream council sounds remarkably similar to Funtastic’s vision, as stated on their website. Yet Funtastic wants to call this a park! On the Funtastic website it states:
We need to ask ourselves: Do we want the heart of Coldstream to be utilized as a beer garden band festival?Without the restrictions of the present DND conditions, there could be parties with music resonating up and down this bowl-like valley (Ockert, Coldstreamernews, October 25, 2007). Do we want to welcome this nightmare vision of sports tourism into our vision of rural living at its best? Pity the people who look down on this mega complex, or anyone within our valley. Our quiet rural Coldstream neighborhoods will become something we don’t recognize, or want. By then it will be too late!
Coldstream council has stated:
Forty years ago we foolishly wasted water with no thought. Then we watered the sidewalks, the roads, our patios, and ran the sprinkler all day long just to cool off. Fast forward to now – water is a precious resource. Even in Canada, the land of plenty, we have water restrictions. With global warming bringing longer and hotter summers, water restrictions will only tighten. We need to ask: How much water will be wasted to keep this space green for leisure activities, rather than being used for food production? Would these fields be placed on water restrictions like the rest of us? Have we thought as well of the impact of the amount of herbicides and pesticides that will be pumped onto those playing fields to keep them weed and pest free? Those toxic chemicals will end up in Hunter Creek, which originates in this property. Those chemicals will continue down our watershed to Kal Lake – a source of our drinking water. Not to mention the species all along the wetlands that are fed by Hunter Creek that could potentially die out because of this massive interference. By then it will be too late!
It’s important to consider that only about 7 % of all ALR land left in B.C. is Class 1 and 2, and less than 20% of all ALR land in the Okanagan is Class 1 and 2. These 118 acres are rated as very high capability Class 2 land. There have been comments in the paper that this isn’t good land. This land grows only corn for cows. I’ve never seen it grow anything else! The truth is that it can grow a very wide range of crops, including fruits and vegetables, especially because it has a source of irrigation water. Let’s keep in mind as well that there are many small acreages neighboring this prime land in the ALR where the owners have been striving to be good stewards of the land. Following such a drastic change to their quiet rural lifestyle, they may soon be seeking to take their land out of the ALR as well. Will council be able to say no after allowing this prime ALR farm land to be developed? As stated by Don Elzer in the Vernon Courier:
Now fast forward forty years. It’s not difficult to imagine that all our prime farm land has been developed, not just here, but everywhere else. The population in our valley, and elsewhere, has expanded exponentially. We can’t afford to buy imported food because the cost is too high, and, even if we could, the quality is low, full of preservatives needed for the long distances it has to travel to get to us. We realize as we look back that prime farm land was a precious resource that we foolishly wasted, and our grown children question us why we didn’t do more to protect it while we could. The time is now! Our prime farm land is a resource that should not be developed for any reason! True park development should be used to improve degraded marginal land. In this case good agricultural land is becoming degraded through the parks development process. We stand at the cusp of a momentous decision. This decision will have repercussions and echoes with far reaching effects. This decision is in the palm of your hand right now!
There are other options for sports fields distributed in Vernon and Coldstream. What happened to the idea of improving and more fully utilizing existing facilities such as the DND, Polson Park, school fields, Marshall Fields, as well as other ideas? What about the idea of buying smaller parcels of marginal, low-productivity or nonproducing ALR land? These options were suggested at the public meeting called by Coldstream council in September. Here they made their first decision not to send forward an application to develop this land. This decision turned out to be only a temporary one, because of pressure to push this mega sports tourism facility forward regardless of the legitimate concerns and strong objections of many Coldstream residents. As a result, no other options were given any opportunity to be explored. There are solutions out there; we just need the time and opportunity to find them. By stopping this proposal we enable all sides to work together with united strength to find a solution, rather than against each other.
When faced with the turbulent truths of the future certainty of higher taxes; the future certainty of noise and light pollution from this stadium in our midst; the future uncertainty of urban sprawl; the future uncertainty of global warming; and the future uncertainty of water and food shortages – the only defensible choice is No. The risk of this complex far outweighs the benefits. As stated by Margaret Mead: A small group of thoughtful people could change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.
We have power here. Power means simply our capacity to act.
We need to take action now so that we can look back and know that we were that small group of thoughtful people that made a difference. What can we each personally do? Get out, and spread the words - Vote no!
Joyce Gershony
Coldstream
We are all aware of what we are being told at the surface level here – that these 118 acres of prime farm land on Aberdeen Road are being used for soccer fields for children, and green space. It doesn’t take much digging to get at the deeper truths. This prime farm land is being sacrificed for a mega sports tourism facility. Besides two baseball fields, four soccer pitches (two with lights), six slo-pitch/fastball fields, (two with lights) - there’s parking for 1000 vehicles, four dog agility fields, a banquet hall, storage, offices, washrooms, change rooms and bleachers, and most importantly, a fully lit stadium with a track and football field. This mega sports facility being proposed by Coldstream council sounds remarkably similar to Funtastic’s vision, as stated on their website. Yet Funtastic wants to call this a park! On the Funtastic website it states:
“Funtastic is fully behind this proposal and encourages all citizens to VOTE YES on December 15th … The proposed park will still remain within the ALR and will be designated non-farm use…The park will include some sports fields, walking trails and whatever the community at large wishes” (Funtastic website, Nov. 3, 2007, para. 1,2).We need to ask ourselves: Does this proposal sound like some sports fields, or does it sound like a Funtastic site? Does this sound like what the community at large wishes? Does parking for 1000 vehicles, a banquet hall, storage, offices, washrooms, change rooms, bleachers, and most importantly, a fully lit stadium with a track and football field sound like a park, or concrete and steel? This is not green space! This is not soccer and baseball fields for children! This is an opportunity to bring sports tourism into our midst. As stated on the Funtastic website, their vision is of:
A multi sports facility with permanent facilities (including larger washrooms, concessions, building for officials and organizers, covered grandstands, dugouts, covered stage and clearly laid out parking). The new facility would become the ideal location to host tournaments (including volleyball, football, soccer, lacrosse, rugby, ultimate and slo-pitch) and outdoor events (including music performances, plays and outdoor festivals). (Vision, para. 2)
We need to ask ourselves: Do we want the heart of Coldstream to be utilized as a beer garden band festival?Without the restrictions of the present DND conditions, there could be parties with music resonating up and down this bowl-like valley (Ockert, Coldstreamernews, October 25, 2007). Do we want to welcome this nightmare vision of sports tourism into our vision of rural living at its best? Pity the people who look down on this mega complex, or anyone within our valley. Our quiet rural Coldstream neighborhoods will become something we don’t recognize, or want. By then it will be too late!
Coldstream council has stated:
“No cost estimates are being released on the project, as not to jeopardize the referendum question. The question is not about the cost, but whether Coldstream residents want the project or not” (Morning Star, October 12, 2007).Scratch a little deeper and we need to ask ourselves: What exactly does council mean by as to not jeopardize the referendum question? To jeopardize, by definition, means “to put in danger” Does this mean that no cost estimates are being released on the project, because they don’t want to endanger their outcome of this referendum question? Cost estimates are essential to the referendum question. Without releasing cost estimates they are jeopardizing the referendum question. There is an obvious inherent bias in that statement. The question has to be about the cost, because that should be one of the major factors in the decision in whether Coldstream residents want the project or not. What informed consumer considers buying a major item without first knowing the cost? Why the secrecy? The majority of Coldstream council has made it obvious that they want this mega sports facility built. Are they ensuring a higher likelihood of their favoured outcome by not releasing proposed costs? Do you think we would be able to stop this momentum if we realize after the vote that the cost is too high? By then it will be too late!
Forty years ago we foolishly wasted water with no thought. Then we watered the sidewalks, the roads, our patios, and ran the sprinkler all day long just to cool off. Fast forward to now – water is a precious resource. Even in Canada, the land of plenty, we have water restrictions. With global warming bringing longer and hotter summers, water restrictions will only tighten. We need to ask: How much water will be wasted to keep this space green for leisure activities, rather than being used for food production? Would these fields be placed on water restrictions like the rest of us? Have we thought as well of the impact of the amount of herbicides and pesticides that will be pumped onto those playing fields to keep them weed and pest free? Those toxic chemicals will end up in Hunter Creek, which originates in this property. Those chemicals will continue down our watershed to Kal Lake – a source of our drinking water. Not to mention the species all along the wetlands that are fed by Hunter Creek that could potentially die out because of this massive interference. By then it will be too late!
It’s important to consider that only about 7 % of all ALR land left in B.C. is Class 1 and 2, and less than 20% of all ALR land in the Okanagan is Class 1 and 2. These 118 acres are rated as very high capability Class 2 land. There have been comments in the paper that this isn’t good land. This land grows only corn for cows. I’ve never seen it grow anything else! The truth is that it can grow a very wide range of crops, including fruits and vegetables, especially because it has a source of irrigation water. Let’s keep in mind as well that there are many small acreages neighboring this prime land in the ALR where the owners have been striving to be good stewards of the land. Following such a drastic change to their quiet rural lifestyle, they may soon be seeking to take their land out of the ALR as well. Will council be able to say no after allowing this prime ALR farm land to be developed? As stated by Don Elzer in the Vernon Courier:
“When land is removed from the ALR using the community need provision, what guarantee is there that future sprawl won’t result? Are we placing future food production needs at risk?” (October 25, 2007).The surface words – we really have to build this mega sports facility on these 118 acres, and we need to do it fast! The deep truth: This land is as precious a resource as water, not to be wasted. Let’s not have to look back and think about this. By then it will be too late!
Now fast forward forty years. It’s not difficult to imagine that all our prime farm land has been developed, not just here, but everywhere else. The population in our valley, and elsewhere, has expanded exponentially. We can’t afford to buy imported food because the cost is too high, and, even if we could, the quality is low, full of preservatives needed for the long distances it has to travel to get to us. We realize as we look back that prime farm land was a precious resource that we foolishly wasted, and our grown children question us why we didn’t do more to protect it while we could. The time is now! Our prime farm land is a resource that should not be developed for any reason! True park development should be used to improve degraded marginal land. In this case good agricultural land is becoming degraded through the parks development process. We stand at the cusp of a momentous decision. This decision will have repercussions and echoes with far reaching effects. This decision is in the palm of your hand right now!
There are other options for sports fields distributed in Vernon and Coldstream. What happened to the idea of improving and more fully utilizing existing facilities such as the DND, Polson Park, school fields, Marshall Fields, as well as other ideas? What about the idea of buying smaller parcels of marginal, low-productivity or nonproducing ALR land? These options were suggested at the public meeting called by Coldstream council in September. Here they made their first decision not to send forward an application to develop this land. This decision turned out to be only a temporary one, because of pressure to push this mega sports tourism facility forward regardless of the legitimate concerns and strong objections of many Coldstream residents. As a result, no other options were given any opportunity to be explored. There are solutions out there; we just need the time and opportunity to find them. By stopping this proposal we enable all sides to work together with united strength to find a solution, rather than against each other.
We need an opportunity to find a solution that works for everyone!
We need to put a stop to Funtastic festivals, and noise and light pollution in our midst!
We need to put a stop to this injustice against our children’s future!
We need to look below the smoothly worded surface, to the turbulent truths beneath!
We need to vote NO!
When faced with the turbulent truths of the future certainty of higher taxes; the future certainty of noise and light pollution from this stadium in our midst; the future uncertainty of urban sprawl; the future uncertainty of global warming; and the future uncertainty of water and food shortages – the only defensible choice is No. The risk of this complex far outweighs the benefits. As stated by Margaret Mead: A small group of thoughtful people could change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.
We have power here. Power means simply our capacity to act.
We need to take action now so that we can look back and know that we were that small group of thoughtful people that made a difference. What can we each personally do? Get out, and spread the words - Vote no!
Joyce Gershony
Coldstream
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