An open house for Stage 2 of the South Campbell Heights Local Area Plan is set for Thursday, Nov. 30 at the South Surrey Arts & Recreation Centre (14601 20 Ave.).
Set for 7-8:30 p.m., it’s part of a process that began nine years ago to look at 245 hectares (600 acres) of land south of 20 Avenue, between 188 and 196 Streets, for industrial development or a business park.
READ MORE: Ecologically sensitive area eyed for development
The aim of Stage 2, according to information posted to the City of Surrey website, is to “provide strategies to balance future employment and business growth with environmental protection” in the area, informed by consultation with community, First Nations, environmental, landowner and resident stakeholders.
In addition, Stage 2 includes detailed strategies for servicing and transportation, as well as a number of studies, the site notes.
The expanse of land is located just south of the Campbell Heights Business Park, which began development in 2003.
Stage 1 of the LAP was endorsed by council in July 2017, following a lengthy public hearing where supporters and opponents alike were vocal.
READ MORE: Surrey council moves South Campbell Heights plan forward
READ ALSO: Metro Vancouver board endorses Surrey’s South Campbell Heights development plan
Metro Vancouver supported the plan in late February 2022, voting 69-65 in favour of amending Metro’s Regional Growth Strategy to move South Campbell Heights outside of the ‘urban containment’ boundary and re-designate the land use to conservation and recreation, mixed employment and agriculture from rural and mixed employment.
One business leader described the vote as a “monumental decision in favour of economic competitiveness, industrial land, business and job growth.”
Opponents – concerned about potential environmental impacts in the ecologically sensitive area – however, were “very, very disappointed” by the outcome.
Semiahmoo First Nation Chief Harley Chappell said he viewed it as a “missed opportunity” for Metro Vancouver to show that it is truly acting in the spirit of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and forthcoming changes in provincial legislation designed to bring laws, regulations and policies in line with the declaration and the principles of reconciliation.
“We had high hopes, because the opportunity was there to do business in a different way,” he told Peace Arch News following the vote.
A July 2023 corporate report notes that regular meetings between the city and SFN have taken place since early 2021, for feedback on environmental and aquifer protection approaches, as well as the development of a ‘Cumulative Effects Assessment,’ to examine impacts to “SFN-valued traditional practices” in the plan area and downstream along the Little Campbell River Watershed, such as fishing and water quality.
Some land parcels in the area are already on the market. One – a nearly 10-acre rectangular lot located in the 19500-block of 16 Avenue – is described in a Collier’s brochure as having “potential for larger land assembly.” Sites in the area, the brochure adds, are “close to development ready.”
According to minutes from Surrey’s environment and climate change committee’s Oct. 11, 2023 meeting, outcomes from Thursday’s open house will be brought back to the committee at a future meeting.
It’s anticipated the Stage 2 plan document will be ready for council’s consideration in mid-2024.
- with files from Alex Browne