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Delta looks to get rid of old contracts

About 3,400 land use agreements that date back to the 1970s are still legally binding today
contracts
Delta has begun a process that would terminate land use contracts on over 100 industrial and commercial properties. There are still many more in effect on residential land.

They're zoning anomalies, something stuck in a bygone time, so Delta has begun the process of correcting them.

Mostly created in the 1970s, land use contracts were signed at the time of a property's original subdivision and outline various development guidelines. Delta no longer uses such contracts, but the current large batch of legally binding agreements, still registered on title, remain frozen in time.

Over the years Delta has updated its zoning bylaws but those old land use contracts supersede them, regardless of whether the contracts conform to current standards.

There are about 3,400 of the old contracts still on file, most of which are attached to residential properties. The contracts vary with some more restrictive than current zoning, while others provide greater development opportunities.

"They really are caseby-case," said deputy planning director Marcy Sangret. "An example could be on a residential lot and what we find sometimes is a land use contract is more generous in terms of floor area but it's more restrictive in terms of height. So it can be both at the same time."

Delta council decided last week to take advantage of new provisions under the Local Government Act that allows cities to expire all old contracts by 2024, with an option for even earlier termination. Council members agreed with a staff recommendation to grant preliminary approval for the early termination of land use contracts for over 100 industrial and commercial properties.

Delta isn't including residential properties at this time.

The commercial and industrial properties in question are scattered throughout Delta, including sections of Ladner Village as well as parcels along 56th Street in Tsawwassen.

Sangret said the proposal will go to a public hearing and if the bylaw is adopted, each of the current contracts would continue to be in effect for one year following adoption of the bylaw.

Property owners claiming hardship can apply to the board of variance within six months of adoption of the bylaw to keep their old contracts.

"We have a set of all the land use contracts at municipal hall and we encourage people to come in and view them and they can also look at what the underlying zoning is that would take effect if the bylaw is adopted, and then they can compare them," added Sangret.

If the bylaw is adopted, structures that were built under the old contracts but don't comply with current regulations would be grandfathered as nonconforming uses.