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Letter: Port Moody needs a referendum on Ioco lands, Bert Flinn Park

Port Moody residents should get a formal vote on the future of the Bert Flinn Park right-of-way and development of the Ioco lands, says the letter writer
Port Moody Ioco townsite old groceteria building
The future of the Ioco lands in Port Moody, including the old buildings on the former townsite, such as the Groceteria, is a hot topic.

The Editor,

Re. "The sky isn’t falling" (Letters, The Tri-City News, Feb. 13).

The writer of the referenced letter, David Stuart, has missed the points in his rebutting of issues surrounding the development of Moody Centre, the Ioco lands and the Bert Flinn Park right-of-way. It’s interesting that the author is defending Port Moody council, the majority of whom don’t get the point either. 

The issues surrounding the development of the sites is not whether or not it should be done — it should — it’s how it is going to be done.

To reiterate: The Ioco lands should be developed and there should be a way for the thousands of people who live there to get there in addition to a long, narrow windy road that is already over capacity. Allowing development and shutting down the right-of-way that was planned and always part of the solution all along is like giving a hungry person a can of beans and no can opener. You can still somehow open it but it defies common sense to not properly provide the tools.

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LIKE THIS LETTER? READ THESE ONES ON PORT MOODY SUBJECTS

Letter: Port Moody's Ioco & Bert Flinn decisions are 'brilliant' (sarcasm)

Letter: 'Disappointed' in Port Moody council's Moody Centre vote

Letter: We need public input on Moody Centre TOD proposal — not council restrictions

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Mr. Stuart is correct: The people have spoken. The 2018 election elected three councillors defending one side of the Ioco lands/Bert Flinn debate and three councillors hearing only what fits into their agenda, personal or otherwise. And, of course, the tie-breaking vote goes to the mayor, who won by a landslide of 311 votes — or approximately 1% of the eligible voters. 

The 50% plus one vote is a basic principle of democracy — I get it — but this council is making generational lifestyle decisions without a clear mandate to do so. So the people really haven’t spoken.

Get the issue over with properly the same way it became an issue to begin with: Send it to referendum and let the people speak.

Frank Naso, Port Moody