It wasn't a big crowd but a steady stream of people showed up last Thursday afternoon to see what could be the final development proposal by MK Delta Lands.
The open house at the Delta Town Country Inn was an opportunity for the public to learn more about the company's application to rezone a property near the Burns Bog designated protection area for industrial uses, a plan that would settle, once and for all, the future of its land holdings in the area.
"You know, land development is an interesting profession," said company president Joanne Barnett. "You go through the process. You deal with what you find. You make sure that all of the technical issues are resolved. And then you are dealing with the appetite of the community and see how you can get them to appreciate the value of it. This one is a much easier discussion with the community."
MK Delta Lands had been working on a major housing and commercial
proposal for years, coming up with several versions, only to face opposition from North Delta residents. Located on the east side of Highway 91 between 64th and 72nd avenues, the last proposal included 450 townhomes and up to 650 condos as well as commercial area with a grocery store.
The newest application is for industrial on a site west of Highway 91 and part of the proposal includes transferring all the company's other land holdings in the area, which totals 132.7 hectares (328 acres), to the Corporation of Delta for conservation. It means MK Delta will completely abandon any lucrative housing schemes.
The latest plan to come to Delta council this spring is to build 2.2 million square feet of industrial space on a 62-hectare (155-acre) parcel located adjacent to the Highway 91 Connector (Nordel Way) and the South Fraser Perimeter Road. Once landscaping and buffering are completed, about 45 hectares (112 acres) will have industrial buildings.
The company, which is also offering several million dollars to Delta for amenities and agricultural irrigation improvements, says the site is ideally located for logistics or distribution centres due to its proximity to Deltaport and Fraser Surrey Docks, Tilbury industrial area, the CN Rail terminal, Vancouver International Airport and the U.S. border.
The property, zoned industrial but still within the Agricultural Land Reserve, would be developed into several service parcels that would eventually be subdivided into lots between 3.6 and 10 hectares (nine to 25 acres) in size. The buildings would be between 300,000 to 400,000 square feet. An overpass would be built to access the site.
MK Delta Lands describes the proposal as a "win-win" for everyone, including Delta, which would receive $3.5 million in annual tax revenue.
Not surprisingly, the Burns Bog Conservation Society is lobbying against the proposal, saying projects such as this are dangerous to the natural bog environment.
Bog society president Eliza Olson, who was at Thursday's open house, said a bad deal was made when 200 hectares (500 acres) of important bog land was left out in a major multi-government purchase over a decade ago.
