A New Salmon Arm

It's a sad day for this community. City Council voted in favour of amending the OCP to allow SmartCentres to build a shopping centre on 20-some acres of waterfront (yes, the details are in the words, but essentially we're talking waterfront). While there are many good reasons for this not to have been allowed to happen, my biggest concern is the backward thinking about community planning. I thought information about creative cities, compact urban cores, in-fill and mixed housing, walkable cities, neighbourhood hubs and motor-free connecting trails was getting through to municipal governments. I've heard many stories about other cities that have made huge strides in building thoughtful, people-friendly communities that attract families and businesses. This decision will change the face of Salmon Arm, and will make us just like any other sprawling asphalt-scape with enough recreational shopping opportunities to feed the hungry consumers of our time. Now Council will have to figure out where to build a bigger landfill.