There has been a lot of concern expressed recently by residents of Marc Chagall Avenue over the proposed strip mall across the street from the snow dump and right next door to the Bellagio Condominium and across the street from the Marquise. Let me remind everyone that we had a beautiful town house proposal for the land last fall. I called a District meeting at City Hall, following which residents of the Bellagio, the Marquise and the Rotschild all expressed their support for the project - knowing full well that if it were to be rejected a strip mall could go up there since that is what the property is legally zoned for. We never did bring this to a vote though, since a majority of councillors indicated they would not support it. They cited the proximity of Hydro tension wires. I did not buy this argument. Mayor Anthony Housefather has supported the town house project all along. Ditto for two other councillors. We needed four votes in order for the mayor to break a tie. Sadly, one councillor who supported the project from the start and stood up in front of 60 people at my District meeting in December and said so changed his mind for no acceptable reason. I do not want a strip mall on Marc Chagall, nor do the residents. I am hopeful that at least one councillor will change their vote, allowing us to bring the town houses back online. Afterall, whether it is a residential or comercial project - the Hydro wires will still be there.