The tail end of July is traditionally the sleepy season for politics. We can expect a month off from council meetings in most communities. Then in September and October, like pumpkins ripening in the field, a fresh crop of new public hearings and rezonings will emerge.
Also like pumpkins, some of them will turn into black, festering lumps that inspire cries of horror.
I've been covering council meetings from Vancouver to Abbotsford for more than a dozen years now. I've learned that nothing, absolutely nothing, inspires panic, frothing rage, or tears like an unpopular property development.
They also draw the folks who have never, ever in their lives dealt with a government bureaucracy. Suddenly, they are called upon to make a speech about why they think a squid-breeding centre shouldn't be built next to their daycare, or how purple and orange stripes might not be the best paint scheme for those new condos.
I'm not an elected official, but I've been to more public hearings than your average mayor or councillor. So take my advice for what it's worth.
If you are gearing up to fight for your neighbourhood, here are a few arguments not to make. These are the ones that I hear time and again, but which I think actually do more harm than good.
? "I paid a lot for this house, and you can't do this to my property values!"
Well, actually they can. A council's responsibilities come down to a balancing act between a whole whack of competing goals.
Keeping your property values up is only one of them. It's not that the council wants to crush your property values - that would depress the taxes they collect! But there is nothing in the oath of office about permanently propping up your condo's resale value.
"If you do X, it will turn this neighbourhood into a ghetto!"
Unless X is an openpit sewage pond, this is unlikely. The ghetto accusation (which always makes me think of Elvis warbling about a poor little baby child being born) comes up surprisingly frequently.
And hey, maybe whatever X is will slash the value of your house from $600,000 to $500,000. Oh no! Now all the meth addicts will be able to afford to move in!
This claim combines a snobbish sense of entitlement with a vicious fear of anyone in a lower income tax bracket than the speak-er. It's a non-starter.
"I will move if you do this!"
The "I'll take my ball and go home" argument is usually an empty threat.
While I'm certain that a small percentage of people actually do leave because they don't like the way things are going, I have never seen a forest of For Sale signs sprout up in the wake of a rezoning. Anywhere. Ever.
Most people just grumble and get on with their lives, because the cost of moving far outweighs simply dealing with whatever change has been made.
"People will kill themselves, and it will be your fault!"
Yes, I have seen people blame future suicides on development plans. Yes, I have seen this on more than one occasion. No, I have never seen follow-up evidence. This claim is so over the top, most listeners will just mentally shift the speaker over to the crackpot list.
Finally, one statement that, if delivered in a calm tone of voice, might actually work.
"We'll remember how you folks voted on this, when the next election comes."
This works best if you follow through, donate some money, stay informed, and plant a few lawn signs come November.
Matthew Claxton is a reporter for News's sister paper, the Langley Advance.
