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YOUR SOURCE FOR LOCAL SPORTS, NEWS, WEATHER AND ENTERTAINMENT! WWW.DELTA-OPTIMIST.COM The Voice of Delta since 1922 WEDNESDAY, MAY 5, 2010
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Delta South hits goal in anti-HST campaign BY
JESSICA KERR
jkerr@delta-optimist.com
PHOTO BY
CHUNG CHOW
Work has begun on the Tsawwassen Springs development at the Tsawwassen Golf and Country Club. The original plan for fewer, but larger, condos has been replaced with a greater number of smaller units. Under the plan, the buildings would remain the same size, they would just be divided into more units. Delta council must approve the change.
Springs revision proposed New plan for golf course redevelopment would see more units but scope remain same BY
SANDOR GYARMATI
sgyarmati@delta-optimist.com
The redevelopment underway at the Tsawwassen Golf and Country Club could see an increase in the number of condos, but not in the scope of the overall project. Delta council unanimously gave preliminary approval Monday to an application for several variances to the Tsawwassen Springs project. They include, most notably, increasing the number of condos in two concrete six-storey buildings from 69 units to 93 units in each. The buildings have yet to be constructed, although preload has begun. Another wood-framed building, which will be four storeys, would increase from 50 to 55 units. The first phase of the project, a wood-framed building that’s already going up, will remain at its original 55 units.
PHOTO BY
SANDOR GYARMATI
Developer Ron Toigo says the HST applied to pricier condos is a major reason for the project’s revision. The proposed variance would result in 53 more units overall. The buildings in the new application would be the same size, but a number of the larger condos would be reduced in square footage. It would create smaller and,
presumably, more affordable units. A major reason cited for the move was the new HST that will be charged to pricier condos, a tax that won’t apply to less expensive units. Some of the other proposed
changes for the project, bordered by Highway 17 and 52nd Street, include removing a rental restriction to allow the strata council to decide whether to allow renting, not constructing an amenity building as originally planned in order to cut down on strata fees, reducing the number of parking stalls and creating an outdoor ice rink for the community in winter. Another change would allow guesthouses behind the townhouses and single-family houses, which would be constructed in future phases, to become slightly larger. The new golf course clubhouse and a commercial building were to be completed in late 2012, but under the new proposal would see the completion date pushed back a year. There wasn’t much discusSee SPRINGS page 3
It was a big weekend for the anti-HST fight in Delta South as the constituency became the first in the Lower Mainland to reach the goal of 15 per cent of registered voters. As of Sunday, organizers and volunteers had collected more than 5,600 signatures. The goal was 5,100. “Delta South is doing phenomenally,” said regional organizer for Surrey and Delta Patricia Enair. However, the local effort to bring down the HST isn’t stopping. “We’re still going to have a presence in the community, it’s just going to be scaled back,” she said. Enair added that local organizers are still looking for a permanent location for the petition in Delta South and hopes are that one will be established this week. An anti-HST rally/celebration is planned for Monday night at Sacred Heart Parish in Ladner. Fight HST leader Bill Vander Zalm and organizer Chris Delaney will speak and petitions will be available. The rally is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. More information about rallies and sign up locations are available at www.fighthst.com. The campaign against the harmonized sales tax officially kicked off three weeks ago. Fight HST has 90 days to collect signatures from a minimum of 10 per cent of registered voters in each B.C. constituency. The purpose of the initiative is to declare the agreement between the federal government and the province to establish a 12 per cent harmonized sales tax not in effect. The draft bill is aimed at reinstating the seven per cent provincial sales tax. The Liberal government used its majority in the legislature last week to issue closure to the HST debate. The government can now collect HST for goods and services consumers receive after July 1.