News
The SCRD Infrastructure Committee decided to close the Pender Harbour Landfill and replace it with a transfer station in a 4-3 vote. Voting against the closure was Area A director Eric Graham of Pender Harbour, Area B director Gary Nohr of Halfmoon Bay and Area F director Lee Turnbull of West Howe Sound.
Graham tried twice to get the committee to approve another survey of the residents of Area A in order to get a more accurate take on the residents position on the issue. Both motions were defeated.
Howard White of the Save the Landfill Committee brought a petition signed by 820 people to keep the landfill open. White said, " I was shocked by the way they casually tossed aside a petition with 820 names on it and took the position that it was up to the board to make the decision, not the public. This is a pretty breathtaking defeat for the ideal of participatory democracy and for the autonomy of regional areas."
Director Graham is working on another proposal for a random telephone survey of Area A paid for by Area A. "I think it is imperative to find a creditable way to find out what the majority in Area A wants," said Graham.
Meanwhile, the final vote is scheduled to go before the SCRD Board on February 25.