Thank you, Mayor Milobar and Councillors Wallace, Dever, Spina and Cavers for refusing the rezoning request (from churches to multiple family medium density) for the property next to Aberdeen elementary school.

In spite of the approval by City officials, the rezoning request (including an apartment building) was denied because of the concerns of people living in the area about stability of the ground (and liability if the assurances of the developer turn out to be wrong), privacy in backyards of property situated below the development, aesthetics, noise, parking and traffic (next to an elementary school).

The closeness of the vote (5-4) illustrates the difficulty of balancing the interests of all of the stakeholders. Those who might wish to live in the proposed buildings have rights that need to be taken into account, but the fact that council was prepared to take account of citizen concerns by overruling their own officials, shows that the democratic system is alive and well in Kamloops.

RICHARD HOLMES

Kamloops