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Council advised to release hold on in-limbo Rosemary Heights developments

Staff report recommends amendments to South Surrey neighbourhood’s plan
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The ‘suburban pocket’ that was the subject of a city review of the Rosemary Heights Central Neighbourhood Concept Plan is outlined in this image with a broken red line. (City of Surrey graphic)

City of Surrey staff are recommending a series of development applications for the central Rosemary Heights neighbourhood that have been on hold since last summer be allowed to proceed to council for consideration.

According to a corporate report to be presented to council tonight (March 12), a review authorized last June in response to concerns “associated with several development applications” in the area, has resulted in proposed amendments to the neighbourhood concept plan that would allow “limited suburban densification, through introduction of quarter-acre sized lots within portions of the suburban pocket.”

“The recommended Option will minimally impact streets, schools and parkland capacities,” the report by the city’s general manager of planning and development, Jean Lamontagne, states.

Council voted unanimously in June for the “comprehensive review.” The move put the brakes on six development applications within the targeted pocket.

In the months that followed, public feedback was sought to “to determine the proportion of residents who preferred preservation of the suburban character of the area, compared to those that wanted to see increases in density,” the report states.

Area residents told Peace Arch News in December that the public-input process did not go far enough, and that a review of the impact to traffic and schools did not go far enough.

Among staff findings was that the opening of cul-de-sacs on 36 Avenue and 156 Street between 34 and 36 avenues to accommodate increased traffic – which residents had expressed concern about – would not be necessary.

The report notes that a proposal to build 278 townhouses and 23 single-family homes on lands previously occupied by the Rosemary Heights Retreat Centre – at 3690 and 3660 152 St. – was not the focus of neighbourhood engagement for the report, however, it “has been of significant interest to the community.”

“Staff concluded that the additional traffic did not result in volumes atypical for local roads or volumes that would necessitate opening the cul-de-sacs on 36 Avenue and 156 Street,” the report states.



Tracy Holmes

About the Author: Tracy Holmes

Tracy Holmes has been a reporter with Peace Arch News since 1997.
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