Dear Editor,
I have no stake in the Coulter Berry debate. I don’t live in Langley Township anymore, and it will not affect me personally if Coulter Berry is approved, nor will it affect me if the rezoning is defeated.
However, I have been reading both sides of the debate in the newspaper and on Facebook and other social media.
I support Coulter Berry, not because anybody asked me to, but because I believe it is a good building for a great community.
I am truly shocked and disgusted by the actions of those who run the “We Support a Two Story Coulter Berry†Facebook page.
Any comment made on that page that shows any support towards Eric Woodward or Coulter Berry is fairly quickly removed. They leave only the comments that support their cause. They can’t show a proper dialogue, and you can see many “orphaned†posts, which means the post that they reply to has been deleted.
How sad that they feel they must resort to blatant censorship to further the misinformation that they continue to spew.
I have personally been blocked from commenting on the site, and not because I ever made any personal accusations, but because I simply asked why their attack is focused solely on Coulter Berry.
The lovely Reid Block is going up literally around the corner. It received variances for height and lot coverage, just as Coulter Berry did, yet there’s no lawsuit against it or its developer.
I asked about it (several times!) and was told it’s not three storeys, but very clearly is.
The third storey is not just for rooftop mechanical access and rooftop patios. The floor plans are available for anyone to see, and the loft space could easily be used for a bedroom, not to mention that there’s a two-piece washroom upstairs in each unit, so it’s definitely living space.
The lawsuit against Coulter Berry is based on the variances that were approved, yet the same process was used to approve the Reid Block.
Mr. Woodward and his supporters have been accused of “working the phones†to bring people in to “stack†their meeting at the Fort Langley Community Hall. It’s even been suggested on social media that they paid people to attend.
I was not called and asked to attend. I read about it, just like anybody else could have.
Seanna Koopmans, Abbotsford