Dear editor,
The mayor of Courtenay seems miffed because some poll suggests that Courtenay is no longer as desirable a place to live as it once was.
He dismisses the new, lower ranking of a recent livability report, claiming that the judging criteria is obviously wrong.
However, he seemed to happily accept the judging criteria for the previous ranking when the city scored higher.
I also note in the paper, a small, easy-to-miss article that quietly announced that the Courtenay council has just approved a bigger than normally allowed store sign (more than three times the size) for the shiny new, big-box Target store that is soon to beautify the southern entrance to the town.
So, I guess this is what the new sign criteria is. The bigger the store, the bigger the sign. No doubt a lot of well-reasoned thought went into that vote.
Maybe there is a connection to be made here between Made in America Big Box Store with Big Sign; and Low Score on the Livability Scale.
In scenic New England towns, councils actually have laws that dictate the look of businesses like, say, a McDonalds. If they want to do business there, the stores have to blend in with the fine old, tourist-friendly architecture of the existing heritage townsite.
Store signs (very small, tastefully made signs), are inconspicuously tucked into the corner of a street-level window.
These town councils haven’t sold out. And these towns attract many, many tourists who flock there to experience something truly authentic.
With the new annexations of lands into Courtenay, I can hardly wait for the sounds of clearcutting chainsaws in Lannan Woods and Beaver Meadows Farm.
Little boxes, little boxes and they’re all made out of ticky tacky...
Craig Freeman,
Courtenay