AlvinofDiaspar
Moderator
You could say the same for storefronts with the current plan. I agree moving commercial space is probably more harmful to the community but it's not like there's no space. I mean half the neighbourhood is parking lots.
Community core is a stretch. From the images, they've provided it looks like the closest thing to Overlea is a power substation set back a minimum of 30 metres away from the street. If you're counting the core as south of Overlea then it doesn't meet this definition. Mind you this "core" directly south of Overlea is a sea of mall parking lots. Not exactly a community hub. They've done a relatively good job at keeping the facility far from actual residences, so as long as they can do a good job of integrating the facility in with the rest of the community, and hopefully allowing structures to be built on top of it, it's not infringing on the neighbourhood too much minus the forced relocation of businesses.
Because land beside stations are valuable - and it is provincial policy to maximize usage by these lands? We literally have a piece of legislation for this purpose - and boom, the province puts one of the lowest-value land uses right next to a station of their own build. That's hypocrisy.
Also the "core" of a community doesn't just mean physical proximity - it meant the role of the facilities in the community. If you have to "hope", it ain't happening.
AoD