Having followed the Arlington Drive debate with great interest, I was not at all surprised to see some of the comments in Wednesday’s Gazette from opponents of the project.
I have read every single letter included in the city council meeting agendas related to this topic and wish that I could have trademarked the phrase, “I have nothing against Habitat for Humanity” because I would be a millionaire by now. I would argue that this statement is only partially true because the vocal opponents of this development seem to have a problem with everything suggested for the land.
Over the years, they have put up opposition to a seniors’ complex (probably too much late-night partying), a church (undoubtedly too much singing for a Sunday morning) and now have objections to a Habitat project, with additional housing in the complex as well. It has become painfully obvious that these residents will not be happy with any development in this area and are not willing to compromise in any way.
In addition, I would like to comment on the argument that recent activities related to Arlington Drive do not follow our standard of democracy. Democracy is ‘a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system.’ City council was elected three years ago by the citizens of St. Albert (or at least the 37 per cent of eligible voters that cared enough to show up at the polls) to govern on our behalf. They have had multiple public forums on this issue where citizens could voice their opinions and have organized roundtable discussions so citizens could provide ideas and suggestions on how this development could move forward. They took those suggestions and came up with a proposal that I believe has been dramatically improved. I commend the mayor and all councillors for the open and transparent process that they have followed. This type of leadership was exactly why I went to the polls three years ago and voted for them. I wonder how many of the vocal development opponents can say the same.
Chris Cooke, St. Albert
