Last night we had the public hearing for the Tantalus Gardens Proposal.

It was a long night. About a dozen people spoke in favour of the proposed development and about three dozen against.

You can watch all of the speakers here.

Will the proposed development, Tantalus Gardens, be voted against? I don't know the answer to that question. We will find out at the council meeting on Monday, October 28th when Mayor and Council vote. We need 3 of 6 'against' to have it rejected and they need 4 of 6 'for' to have the zoning changed and the project moved through to the next phase.

I will, however, without knowing the outcome, call this a success.

Thank you for your support here. This petition was a little pebble and it started rolling down a big hill and as it went it picked up speed, people, ideas, optimism and momentum. It became other things as it rolled, it sparked people, it allowed me to understand that we needed to make space for this conversation, to act, to work, to engage and to speak out.

I will call this a success because a positive outcome has been achieved. People rallied, they came together, trusted, shared, cared, leaned in, created, built and worked really, really hard. We believed in something and we left all of our cards on the table.

Thank you Mel, for suggesting a petition. Great idea! Thank you Susie and Kevin for getting this rolling before it was even a pebble...for believing first and speaking up. Kevin & Annie for giving us something to gather around. Kara, Francis, Kate, Jon, Dave, Barry, Tina, John, James, Steve and everyone else who worked behind the scenes - came out, wrote letters, spoke, showed up in any way. No one person could have done this alone. It was truly a community effort and it has been inspiring to be part of.

Also thanks to Bob and Nigel, for jumping on board. If you are interested in hearing more about other projects that you would like handled differently by West Van Council and Staff, please join their email list for the newsletter of the West Van Community Stakeholders. We need to support each other no matter where the development takes place if it changes the face of the community.

I will send out a brief update on the morning of October 29th with the final result.

Until then, be well - and thank you.

Sheona