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Public Hearing March 1st
Part of the application on behalf of Delta Council to put the Southlands back in to the ALR requires a public hearing. Council has already voted unanimously for the inclusion application but the public hearing will be a good opportunity for all to express their thoughts on the area plan, farming, and potential use of the Southlands in the future. For those wishing to get caught up to speed on the history of the lands you can go to the ALC website where some historical information has recently been posted. An interesting quick snapshot is attached below.
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| Delta Submission-Appendix A.pdf | 4.57 MB |
- BYCOOP admin's blog
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Looks like it depends on which report you reference.
I spent some time during the Charrette listening to some pretty detailed descriptions and looking at some detailed maps.
The plans considered these findings to put agriculture where it made sense.
The "good capability" isn't my judgement, it was the judgment of the agrologists and other specialists of the Land Commision.
There are always some interesting comments in some of these online petitions.
From the Southlands back in the ALR comes this:
"My house is directly above the Southlands development proposal. I don't want this beneath my home. I love looking out over farmland, the bay, Vancouver skyline and mountains. Given the high price of food and global climate change, Canada would be wise to preserve all the farmland it can".
From a resident of Point Roberts Washington
Beauty Eh?
Yes. Order in council. Should have framed that better. Regardless the "good productive capability" is certainly dubious.
Take a look at Mres. Spetifore's application to council citing poor soil in her request to have the lands removed. This motioned was carried by the council of the day which included our current Mayor Jackson.
Get your facts straight. The ALC never "chose to exclude the lands," in fact they explicitly rejected the application for removal citing the lands good productive capability. There have been several removal applications for farmland presently in the Southlands, all have been rejected. The lands were then removed in 1981 by the ELUC, a provincial committee, over the express wishes and considered judgement of the ALC. But hey, don't let facts get in the way of your arguement.
Here is what I have submitted:
"Greetings.
I am opposed to Delta's inclusion application to the ALC for the "Southlands" and other identified parcels of land.
Although I understand that the application is a part of the ALC process, I hope that Mayor and council appreciate how very upset the community of Tsawwassen is on both sides of the issue. I am also hoping that the ALC disregard the application for many of the same reasons that they chose to exclude the lands in the first place so many years ago.
Many think that an inclusion will somehow keep the land fallow and will end speculation as to potential uses of the property.
Still others think that some sort of pastoral soil based agricultural will naturally evolve over all areas of the land.
I am really hoping that you have all had a chance to read the Charrette booklet so that you may better understand the issues in play for a comprehensive development of these lands that would be focused around "human scale" farming, agricultural education opportunities, open spaces, parklands and trails and afford beach access for upland and southwestern neighbourhoods of Tsawwassen.
For an area that is as close to an island as you get there has never been any sense of "beach community" that is often strived for in marketing and tourism exercises. This is truly unfortunate.
I am disappointed with the way things have turned out on many fronts. The Area Plan process, the lack of participation or observation of the Charrette process of a couple of years ago, and recent unanimous support of the inclusion recommendation.
In my view, waiting to see what transpires on the TFN lands is like Surrey waiting to see what happens in Vancouver before they undertake any planning.
I do not think that this latest land use planning exercise has been given enough time for discussion in our community.
I am sure you have all read the background materials.
I am attaching one document 'Appendix A' from the ALC historical information which touches on some key points of the EXCLUSION application years ago.
Although I am very much disappointed in the way the whole process has unfolded, I still have faith that either Delta or the ALC will see that it is simply inappropriate to include these lands in the ALR."
Regards,
Mike Schneider
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