Albion plan awaits ALC word
Maple Ridge will sound out the Agricultural Land Commission before it goes any farther on a plan for Albion flats.
The huge area along the Lougheed Highway at 105th Avenue is the next project on council’s to-do list, with feelings strong on both sides for developing or preserving the farmland.
And if at the end of the lengthy planning process it works out that most of the 35 acres owned by SmartCentres mall development company has to remain in the Agricultural Land Reserve, so be it, says the mayor.
The company bought the land within the last five years and wants to put up a big-box shopping mall on the property.
But Mayor Ernie Daykin said he has mixed feelings about what should happen there and hasn’t made up his mind what he’d like to see in there.
“I’m not sure that’s what it’s going to be.”
SmartCentres made a decision. “It’s not up to us to make them whole,” he said Tuesday.
“They should have known the challenges going in.”
Council considered a lengthy report Monday outlining options for Albion. It could study the entire area, including the Albion industrial park on the south side of Lougheed Highway. But staff warn against that because it would take too much time.
Or the district could do general concept plans for one or both areas – or just start a full detailed plan.
Daykin said Tuesday that Maple Ridge will double its population in 30 years and said there’s enough space for housing a growing population. But the district needs to find jobs for its residents and he wants new industrial parks in Maple Ridge to supply those jobs.
There’s lots of land downtown, within the urban area for retail. Albion flats is currently outside the district’s urban or built-up area and needs Metro Vancouver approval before that border is changed.
Metro Vancouver recently told Maple Ridge that the Albion flats won’t be considered an urban area in its new regional plan, but pointed out Maple Ridge’s own official community plan offers a means for adding the land to the urban boundary.
Daykin says the area between Haney Place Mall and Valley Fair Mall has “huge redevelopment potential.” However, a good chunk of that is owned by a development company which says it’s interested in residential development.
Daykin also pointed out there’s potential retail space across from municipal hall on Dewdney Trunk Road and farther west, in Haney Plaza.
“If they want to be somewhere bad enough, they’ll figure it out,” said Daykin, citing Costco’s location across from GM Place in Vancouver.
Companies such as SmartCentres make such decisions all the time throughout the Lower Mainland, added Coun. Linda King.
“It’s speculation really. It’s always a risk to do that,” she said of the land purchases.
Whatever happens, though, will be determined by the Agricultural Land Commission, which the district hopes to consult before year-end.
Most of Albion flats north of Lougheed Highway is in the Agricultural Land Reserve, although the commission said a decade ago that it would consider a block exclusion for land to the east of 105th Avenue.
But there’s been no mention of land to the west, still in the ALR and the Green Zone. Most of SmartCentres’ land is to the west of 105th Avenue.
King concedes the district may put itself at a disadvantage for withdrawing land if it doesn’t first create a plan showing how the community would benefit.
She favours doing an area plan immediately on the south side, in Albion Industrial Park, in order to attract a greater variety of businesses.
But she doesn’t want any industrial-zoned land lost to other purposes. “We need to keep every scrap we’ve got.”
Flooding is one issue that has to be addressed for the industrial park south of Lougheed, pointed out Coun. Al Hogarth.
Developing on the south side would require raising the elevation above flood level, which would bury a natural gas pipeline even deeper, he pointed out.
He also questioned a consultant’s report from 2004 which said industrial land would become more scarce. But the removal of two businesses there, one of them Windsor Plywood, shows there’s decreasing demand for industrial land.
The district also should look at charging a levy to property owners who profit from converting farmland to commercial or residential.
Council should be able to do an area plan within a year, he said. “Should the fairgrounds stay where they are, for example. I think that’s part of the process.
“If we get at it, we can actually get it done.”
But King said the whole discussion was out of order, noting the district was first supposed to review its urban boundary.
The staff report says that advancing an Albion plan before a review of the urban-rural boundary or completion of the agricultural plan is “out of sequence” with the goals in the Official Community Plan.
That plan would have to be changed to reflect the new priority, it said.
However, council should show its support for the Agricultural Land Commission and only study the area east of 105th Avenue, said Coun. Craig Speirs.
“As far as large format [shopping] for that area, I don’t have any interest in that at all.”
He also wanted the study to extend beyond 240th Street so that development plans could serve to slow down westbound traffic on Lougheed Highway.
However, it was important to clarify what’s possible, so the public doesn’t get its hopes up about what can take place there, said Coun. Cheryl Ashlie.
Coun. Mike Morden challenged the earlier consultant’s report which said a shopping mall in Albion would hurt the downtown. That study was made out of date by when the Golden Ears Bridge opened, he said, adding he wanted to begin the planning process for Albion.
“I’d say that’s already happened.”
“I think it’s really important for our community that we do a visualization,” about what we want to do in the next 10 to 20 years.
He said planning could start for the eastern part of Albion, then for the west. “I’m suggesting we get all the balls rolling at one time.”
The ALC needs to see an up-to-date vision for the area, he said.
Last spring, Residents for Smart Shopping crowded into council chambers pleading with council to allow commercial development.
Raft of changes to OCP needed for Albion plan to go ahead
While council sounds out the Agricultural Land Commission on its intent for the Albion flats, it also will have to deal with a raft of obstacles in the Official Community Plan before starting the Albion plan.
A staff report lists a myriad of points.
• Albion flats is in the floodplain of the Fraser River, an area of high ecological value. It’s also in Metro Vancouver’s former “green zone” while a good portion is in the ALR.
• Chapter 2 of the OCP says the district will maintain the urban area boundary.
• Section 6 says identification of business parks outside the urban boundary, such as in Albion, are “premature.”
• Staff also note that the OCP’s policies try to protect farming as a “viable contributor to the local and regional economy and to support the agricultural land base by concentrating growth,” inside the urban area.
• Section 6 also says the district will look at more shopping opportunities when it does the “comprehensive review” of urban boundary. That review has yet to start.
Furthermore, staff say, the policies also support the town centre and say that commercial uses outside of that “are not supportable.” Big box stores are supposed to go in the town centre or west Maple Ridge, according to the plan.
http://www.bclocalnews.com/tri_city_.../69914992.html
Prev
Thanks, pretty good for suburbs in a metro-area of only 2.5 million, not to mention all of the other pocket town centers with towers in our area. Honestly, Metrotown alone has about the same number of towers one can find in Downtown Phoenix (at least when I was there 5 years ago).
Linear Mode
