Metro Vancouver has set a date for a public hearing on the Southlands development proposal.
The hearing will be held on Thursday, May 1 at the regional district's offices in Burnaby, 4330 Kingsway, starting at 11 a.m. If the hearing needs to reconvene, a second day has been added on Friday, May 2, starting 1 p.m.
Delta is applying to amend the regional growth strategy to allow Century Group's proposed housing development on the 500-plus acre Tsawwassen site, which has had a lengthy history of controversy but may be coming to a final resolution.
The Metro board recently voted in favour of sending the application to a public hearing with only director Harold Steves in opposition. Metro must decide whether to alter the regional urban containment boundary, aimed at containing residential development within a defined footprint. Any change in designation would require a two-thirds weighted vote by the board.
Century Group is proposing to build 950 housing units on 20 per cent of the Southlands property in an area that reportedly has the poorest soil quality. The remaining 80 per cent would be given to Delta, much of it for farming. Delta is proposing to apply to have the newly acquired farmland placed back in the Agricultural Land Reserve, once irrigation and drainage improvements have been done. The Southlands is zoned agricultural and also designated agricultural under the OCP and local area plan, but was taken out of the ALR over 30 years ago.
The proposal , which went through five days of a municipal public hearing last fall before getting preliminary approval from council, will likely draw a large crowd at the regional hearing.
"While I'm disappointed at the decision to proceed to a public hearing, it is clear from the Metro staff report that this application does not conform to the recently created Regional Growth Strategy Planning principles. If these principles are used to judge the merit of the application, Metro will have no choice but to reject the development proposal." stated Dana Maslovat, one of the organizers of Southlands the Facts, following Metro's decision to proceed to a hearing.
The proposal is expected to draw many supporters as well.
"It was ultimately this grander vision of a neighbourhood that included a Community Farm that captured the imagination of those who took the time to participate and shape the Southlands plan. It is this final plan for Southlands that Delta Mayor and Council approved with a strong vote of confidence after much thoughtful consideration, five days of public hearings and reviewing hundreds of pieces of correspondence, staff recommendations and professional reports," Century Group president Sean Hodgins stated on his website.
According to Century Group, some of the land will likely be farmed by existing Delta farmers. The fact that the 430 acres is contiguous allows for maximum future flexibility in apportioning lands for various farm sizes, the company notes, adding the agricultural activity that takes place on the land could also be community-based farming.
Opponents, however, say there should be no trade-offs to allow housing on farmland.
