It was a shock to many when the City announced it would steam ahead with its plan to redraw the Sub-council 1 boundaries without Table View, especially after the wave of objections it attracted.
What must add salt to the wounds of the objectors is that the City gave little if any indication that it had considered either the recommendations from the Western Seaboard Alliance (WSA) or the petition drawn up by Table View resident Leon Alhadeff.
Many will be left feeling like the decision was made well before the public participation process even started.
It’s a sentiment shared by many other residents’ groups who have fought the City on developments that seem to get pushed through in defiance of not only broad public sentiment but also expert opinion.
A time will come, if indeed it hasn’t already, when residents will simply ignore the call for public participation, seeing it as nothing more than a crude smokescreen.
Maybe this is how the City can claim overwhelming support for a proposal that single-handedly united so many civic groups, including the Table View Ratepayers’ Association, CPFs, neighbourhood watches and the residents associations, in such a vociferous opposition.
