This past week has been an eventful one for members and friends of SMRPOA, and for all those concerned with property rights here on the mountain.

First, the ditch tax was voted down on December 3rd. Yet, going into the vote, it seemed like the odds were stacked against us --- several council members and even the Mayor were in favor of imposing a drainage fee. But in an amazing turn, John Smith moved that the drainage fee proposal be scrapped, and then Henry Braun went one step further by moving that the city maintain our ditches out of its existing road budget. The Mayor also appeared to be softening his position, acknowledging that the ditch maintenance issue was poorly understood.

End result: no ditch tax, plus we get the city's commitment to maintain our ditches.

Second, the Sumas Mountain Environmental Management Plan/Study was shelved/killed (we're not sure which) and staff proposed instead a much less-threatening citywide "Green Community Plan" which it brought to council on December 10th. Most of us thought the Green Community Plan would be accepted. Amazingly, it wasn't. Council rejected it in a 5:4 vote which the Mayor had to get involved in (council had voted 4:4 and therefore the Mayor had to cast his vote). John Smith again played a strong role in this, with other council members also taking the position that the Green Community Plan would potentially cause more problems than it would fix.

End result: no more SMEMP/SMEMS, and no Green Community Plan either.

Third, the tree bylaw came back to council on December 10th for major revisions, including a blanket exclusion for most of Sumas Mountain. John Smith and Henry Braun championed the position of either scrapping the tree bylaw completely (citywide) or re-drafting it so all rural areas (not just Sumas Mountain) are excluded --- and as a result both these council members voted against the revised bylaw. Then, in an interesting turn of events, the rest of council voted in favor of accepting the revised tree bylaw, apparently in order to avoid going down the roads which council members Smith and Braun were advocating. Therefore Patricia Ross, arch-proponent of tree protection, found herself voting in favor of excluding Sumas Mountain from having any tree bylaw whatsoever.

End result: no tree bylaw for the former Area H (and the south side of Dawson Road).

For those of us who were opposed to all three items (the ditch tax, the SMEMP, and the tree bylaw), this has been a week that is most welcome. It's been a battle. Most of us would agree, the Mayor and certain members of council and also some of the staff/management at City Hall have listened to us on these issues, and we're grateful for that.

Let's remain vigilant though. As long as the city remains fiscally in-the-hole, the proposed ditch tax remains in play. And as long as there are people at city hall who think they need to regulate our lives, concepts like the SMEMP or the tree bylaw will keep coming up.

But in the meantime, we're going to enjoy this moment. Three major wins, all in one week. Thank you for standing with us. Your voice is being heard at city hall.