Today, Surrey Council will be voting to approve an official community plan changes to allow a 482-townhome project located at 1083, 1109 and 1177 – 168 Street; 1068 – Highway 99; and 16620 – 12 Avenue, which is owned by Fergus Creek Homes Ltd.
The plan is to amend the Official Community Plan (OCP) from General Land Use Designations to redesignate the site from Mixed Employment to Multiple Residential and amend the OCP from Major Employment Areas by removing the Mixed Employment designation for the subject site. The proposal also includes rezoning the site from One-Acre Residential Zone to Multiple Residential 30 Zone in order to develop 482 townhouse units on the subject site.
“The Surrey Board of Trade is supportive of housing developments, but this project is going to take away important employment lands from Surrey,” commented Anita Huberman, President & CEO, Surrey Board of Trade. “The application needs to be referred back to city staff to work with the applicant to develop a proposal that complies with the OCP and the Highway 99 Corridor Local Area Plan (LAP) because the proposal is a significant departure from the policies identified in the City of Surrey Official Community Plan, the Highway 99 Corridor Local Area Plan and the Surrey Employment Lands Strategy. A new development proposal needs to come forward to comply with a Mixed Employment designation in the OCP to create jobs in a commercial/business park orientation to include office uses, service uses, warehouse and distribution centres, and retail uses. The protection of employment lands needs to be a key objective of the City of Surrey.”
It was our understanding that Surrey’s OCP contains policies that are designed to prohibit the conversion of industrial, business park or mixed-employment lands to residential or other non-employment uses to encourage the full utilization and efficient use of industrial and other employment lands to maximize jobs and economic activity per hectare.
“The Surrey Board of Trade supports more housing to combat the crisis we are experiencing in the Lower Mainland; however, we need a balance between employment and homes.”
-30-
Anita Huberman, 604-634-0342, anita@businessinsurrey.com
