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A big thank you to the city’s decrees service
Mr. Editor:
Many thanks to Darren, a municipal officer in Penticton and his buddy.
My wife and I were busy shoveling snow from our driveway when Darren and his boyfriend arrived and offered to help. What a pleasant surprise for two old people!
They finished the job while we watched in awe.
Thank you, it was much appreciated.
Elmer and Véronique Pellerine
Penticton
The learning experience is a very weak excuse
Mr. Editor:
Re: “Moral Voices Must Be Raised in 2022”, by Fr. Harry Clarke (Herald, January 6).
If I found out that the babysitter was hitting my child, I wouldn’t view this as a learning opportunity for the babysitter to grow up, I would make sure she never babysit again.
Also, maybe it is time for churches to pay taxes like the rest of us.
James carter
Penticton
Respect for Heritage on Penticton Lake
Mr. Editor:
Much has been said about opposition to the proposed development at 602 Lakeshore Drive in Penticton.
We agree with concerns about setbacks, track safety, congestion, loss of green space and the resulting climate issues. However, the bigger issue is what do we want our city to look like in the years to come?
Most companies and some cities are now guided by and aspire to environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles and policies.
This is an opportunity for Penticton to demonstrate its leadership.
City staff recommended that the public participate in the creation of a heritage conservation area for Front Street, Lakeshore Drive and Windsor Avenue.
Our official community plan deals specifically with:
• Housing compatible with the character of the existing neighborhood, the form and character of which are guided by development permit guidelines.
• Create developments at the appropriate scale and respectful of their context
• New residential developments must be compatible with the neighborhood in terms of scale and design
The proposed development requires four major deviations for the front and rear margins; increase the hard surface from 60% to 84% and allow a landscaped buffer to be interrupted by a parking lot.
These are not minor deviations; they violate the spirit and the intentions of the OCP, the directives of the development permits and the ESG principles.
There are only 17 homes left on Lakeshore Drive and if this application is approved there are at least six more homes waiting to take advantage of the development windfall that will change the face of this historic neighborhood and indeed the character of our city. .
It’s not just a one-off approval, it’s the thin edge of the corner with irrevocable consequences. The real issue is whether we want to keep the atmosphere and character of our beautiful historic community or become another Kelowna-like city without a long term plan. It’s time to take a step back and develop a thoughtful strategy.
Council, you have the power to make Penticton a city we can all be proud of.
We urge you to put this development on hold and allow municipal staff to continue investigating a heritage conservation area.
Dennis and Kate Hayashi
Penticton
The saga of lake-to-lake cycle paths continues
Mr. Editor:
I read with interest Eva Durance’s reference to the negativity of bike lanes (Herald, January 5). Some points are well taken and others even less cut and dried. There are several questions that arise in what she said.
Most of us realize that climate change is and likely will be a problem for some time to come. There is no “quick fix” to fix this problem quickly.
It seems Mrs Durance is assuming that ‘build it and they will come’ and therefore the world would be a much better place without fossil fuel vehicles.
I hiked the bike path (in my car… pshaw!) Several times before the first snowfall. I once saw four cyclists running the length of the cycle path. This hardly justifies cycle paths as a necessity and a real contributor to climate change.
I would ask Ms. Durance how we could do grocery shopping as a family without using a vehicle mode? Can she consider carrying a grocery order for a family of four or more by bike? If so, it would be interesting to see. Does that somehow make the cycle path justifiable?
A reference is made to last year, British Columbia did not specify what lies ahead if we do not crack down on our so called “fossil fuel addiction”. It looks like we need to move away from all forms of fossil fuel / electric vehicles in favor of bicycles. It would seem that she would have us believe that this is “the silver bullet” to which I referred and which did not exist.
Ms. Durance referred to various uses of the cycle path. I would ask if it was designated as a cycle path, how can it be considered utilitarian when scooters, wheelchairs, pedestrians et al. can be accommodated? Quite expensive for a “one size fits all” event.
In summary, it would appear that Mrs Durance believes that the disappearance of fossil fuel vehicles and the main use of bicycles would fully solve the problem of climate change.
How would that make a monumental difference, I wonder, because without trains, planes, trucks and automobiles, how would we travel provincially, nationally and internationally?
Also, how could we maintain our domestic services – food, agriculture, etc.
Somehow, I can’t imagine the average person cycling to Montreal, New York or Mexico City.
Ron Barillaro
Penticton
Do not impose religious beliefs on others
Mr. Editor:
In a letter to the editor dated December 29, Garry Rayner denounced “the destruction of religious freedom.”
In my opinion, he wants religious freedom to impose his beliefs on others. I believe everyone should be treated with respect.
Too many believers disagree.
Some schools now teach that being healthy and fully human includes a broad spectrum of gender identity, expression, and sexual attraction.
As far as I know, Mr. Rayner can exempt his children from these teachings, and he is free to teach his children whatever he wants at home.
It seems he doesn’t want other people’s children to learn this “doctrine” because it offends his religious belief.
He wants to be safe from threats of retaliation from the government for expressing beliefs “dear to their hearts” about “gender or birth issues.”
Many religious people frequently, freely, publicly and without retaliation from the government, attack gender and sexual minorities as sinners, immoral people, criminals, depraved, unnatural, imperfect, mentally disturbed, evil, guilty of evil deeds , condemned to hell, and worse. It hurts and kills people.
How far should religious freedoms extend? Do we have to respect certain religious beliefs and go back to the days in Canada when people of diverse genders and sexualities were denied equal rights in housing, employment and trade? Detained? And the execution? Religious beliefs in other parts of the world endorse all of this, they are enforced by law in some places.
He declares that secular politicians “destroy religious freedom”. For centuries, societies around the world have accepted the evil that comes from religious education.
Politicians have enshrined this evil in law. Colonialism, racism, misogyny, sexism, environmental degradation, persecution of minorities and many other evils have been and still are preached by religious groups who wield far too much political power.
In Canada, many people freely express their faith in public spaces. Those who don’t want to hear are ignored or asked to go elsewhere. The free expression of one’s religious beliefs in public takes precedence over the right not to have a religion in public.
Religious believers currently have the right to impose their beliefs on others. Religious beliefs have a privileged status, allowing believers to criticize, mock, persecute and attack others with impunity.
I would rather live in a world where each person sticks to their beliefs and accepts others without imposing religious judgments on them.
It is true religious freedom.
Marie Sorge
Penticton
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