To the editor:
Re: "Musqueam eye housing, hotel and retail at UBC." Nov 21.
The proposed development of Musqueam Block F must proceed with proactive commitments for schools. Block F (21 acres) was secured as land for development along with the nearby Block K (34 acres) in BC Bill 12 in 2008.
During the same year, the Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»School Board completed its facilities review that resulted in the new schools currently under construction at UBC and UEL.
Those plans did not account for Musqueam development. Blocks F and K combined can accommodate about 8,000 new residents, which translates to roughly 400 new kindergarten to Grade 7 students and 300 for Grade 8 to 12. The experience with UBC development, being average for North America, is that school planning lags development by at least a decade. The Ministry of Education and VSB need to secure commitments for adequate school spaces before development is authorized, otherwise most new residents can probably look forward to busing or driving their kids to schools several kilometres away. As a society, the responsible course of action is to secure school spaces that lead development, not lag. Forcing a generation of children to be dependent on motorized transport and to be socially disconnected from their local community is not acceptable. Binding agreements and funding for adequate school spaces is essential as a pre-condition for development. Once the land leases are sold, it will be only months before families start occupying their new homes and begin adding their children to school wait lists.
Eric Mazzi, Vancouver
