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Clear cut preferable

Letters

I am sorry Mr. Hicks sees the Dogwood Initiative as the principal opponent of the Marine Trail Holdings application to rezone their seven properties alongside 16 km of the Juan de Fuca Trail.

It is also opposed by the Protect Our Parks Alliance with over 11,000 members, The Sierra Club, Sea to Sea Greenbelt Society, Jordan River Steering Committee, Alpine Club of Canada, Forest Action Network, the Wilderness Committee, Jordan River Community Association, the BCGEU, CUPE, Victoria Labour Council, UVic Sustainability Project, UVic Student Society,  Victoria Coalition Against Poverty, and the Committee to End Homelessness as well as numerous hiking groups that include The Wednesday Wonderers, Thursday Thrashers, Eccentrics, Victoria Outdoor Club and the UVic Outdoors Club.  A telephone poll of the residents of Port Renfrew, Jordan River and Shirley showed that a massive majority opposes this application.

All of us, and many hundreds of individual letter writers, are strongly opposed to this rezoning which, if approved, would:

1. Violate the Regional Growth Strategy that does not anticipate or permit development on the scale of the proposed project,

2.    irrevocably compromise the purpose of a Class A Provincial Park and the wilderness values it was created to protect, and

3. establish a precedent for further spot development and sprawl in this rural area.

All these outcomes are unacceptable.  Even clear-cutting, as threatened, would be preferable as trees would grow back, a future that would be impossible if this massive resort is approved. Seven buildings, as presently allowed, would be better than 266.

John Hasell

Victoria