Fraser Heights Community Association

176th St Development Passes 3rd Reading

On Monday, Jan 11th, Council passed 3rd reading on the high density development at 176th St and Barnston Drive and it is moving ahead. This is against the recommendations of City staff and against the wishes of the FHCA.

The motion was moved by Councillor Tom Gill, Seconded by Councillor Mary Martin, and supported by Councillors Marvin Hunt, Barb Steele, Linda Hepner, and Barinder Rasode.

Only Mayor Watts and Councillors Bob Bose and Judy Villeneuve wanted it to go for public consultation.

The Report to Council referred to a letter of support written by Harnish Dhanji of the FHCA. Mr. Dhanji said he was asked to write this letter by the developer. The letter expressed his personal views but was signed as President of the FHCA, his position at the time. This letter was written without the knowledge of the rest of the executive and was contrary to the position that the FHCA has taken since October.

Mr Dhanji has voluntarily resigned from the FHCA.

On Thursday January 7, 2010 we received a telephone call from the City of Surrey Planning Department, indicating that a corporate report is being sent to City Council on Monday, January 11, 2010 indicating that the Proposed Development at Hwy 1 and 176th can now be considered for Third Reading. In effect what has transpired, unannounced to us as a community, is that the developer is prepared to go before City Council with a revised plan. Although the developer met with the FHCA Executive and made some changes, MUCH MORE needs to be done. Here are the key issues that are still of concern:

Density Too High
While the developer reduced the number of households from 841 to 698, this is still unjustifiably high density. When the community was consulted in an Open House in June 2008, a total of 518 units were shown – 698 units are 35% more!

There is great concern about the impact of such density on existing infrastructure, including the school system. Fraser Heights Secondary School is well in excess of its capacity, and this development will inordinately impact on the present complex.
Additional concerns about density include the lack of recreational facilities and park land to support such an increase in population. While Tynehead Regional Park has been offered for this area, users must cross two busy highways to access it, making it inaccessible for children and dangerous for adults.

Road Access / Traffic
This development is going to seriously impact our community, and the promised traffic study has still not been presented to us.

Look and feel of the development – integration into the community
The community has great concern about two aspects of the look and feel of the development: 1) the absence of control over the drawings regarding style, character and building quality, and 2) the lack of green space due to building density.

Commercial Site
The main concern here is the economic viability of such a large commercial component in a small community.

Process
The community requested an Open House so that all residents could see the impact of the proposal. This is particularly important as this will be the first location in Surrey that is being proposed for 6-storey wood structures.

Please understand that if you are still concerned regarding any of the above items, you must act this weekend in one of the following ways:

• Call each member of City Council (refer to list of Mayor & Councillors below) and express your concerns with any of the issues above. If they are unavailable, please leave a voice mail message with your concerns and your telephone number to allow them to return your call.
• Email each member of City Council (refer to email addresses of Mayor & Councillors below) and express your concerns and issues in writing. You can use a variation of what is written above, but it is best to express your concerns in your own words.

To further show your support, attend the City Council meeting on Monday, January 11, 2010, 7:00pm at City Hall. Hopefully, along with your telephone calls, emails and attendance, this will indicate to Council that we desire further public consultation.

The City of Surrey has completed a series of open houses for a rezoning application in response to a request to remove the limit on maximum floor area on lots greater than 6,028 sq. ft., allow secondary suites, and allow more vehicles to park outside homes. While the open houses are complete there is still an opportunity to provide feedback to the City of Surrey Planning Department. The survey is available as a pdf document that must be completed and returned by Friday, Nov 20th, 2009.

The survey can be submitted via mail:

or fax:

or e-mail:

The survey can be downloaded here: Large Home Rezoning Survey

Background report on the rezoning application can be read here: Report to Council re: Modifications to RF Zone to Allow Larger Homes

You can also provide feedback to the Fraser Heights Community Association directors here: FHCA Directors

In the summer of 2008 a group of residents, primarily from Newton and Whalley, formed an association – The Surrey Ratepayers Association, which petitioned the City to make changes to the Single Family Residential (RF) Zoning restrictions. Their requested changes include:

1. For lots in excess of 560 square metres (6,028 square feet), the house floor area restriction be removed;
2. For lots in excess of 560 square metres (6,028 square feet) the house size only be subject to the current 40% maximum lot coverage restriction and the 9-metre (30 feet) maximum building height (i.e., that there be no maximum floor area );
3. The restriction on outdoor parking be revised to allow four vehicles plus a house trailer, camper or boat; and
4. One secondary suite be allowed upon general application to build a house.

The City planning department presented 3 alternatives to City council and recommended the second. The following excerpt, describing their recommended option, is from their report to council.

Option 2 – Modify the RF Zone by increasing the maximum floor area (i.e., house size), the floor area ratio (FAR) and the lot coverage allowance and include covered decks, covered patios and double height rooms in the FAR and floor area calculations.

Pros:

• Moves towards addressing the requests expressed by the Association;
• Addresses the demand for larger houses to accommodate extended families;
• May reduce the amount of unauthorized modifications to houses and thus result in fewer stop work orders and less related administration;
• Facilitates more efficient use of land;
• Eliminates to some extent the perceived inequities for owners of over-sized RF-zoned lots; and
• More consistent with the approach taken by other Metro Vancouver municipalities in relation to calculating density on single family lots.

Cons:

• Will apply City-wide and may result in the construction of houses that are out of context with a neighbourhood, which will bring complaints from others in the neighbourhood;
• Inconsistent with the changes that were made by the City in 1988, 1991, and 1995 to address complaints regarding the construction of large houses and, therefore, may be contrary to the wishes of many of the owners of RF-zoned lots;
• Inequities will remain between over-sized RF-zoned lots since a floor area restriction will remain in effect, although will be increased; and
• Public reaction is unknown

The full report includes a detailed background of the proposal, analysis of the petitioners and comparisons to other lower mainland municipalities. It is worth reading to get a better understanding of the issue and to see the other options the planners have presented to Council, though not recommended. Please read the notice regarding the public open houses (article below) to see the dates and locations of upcoming open houses.

Following is the link to the full report.

Report to Council re: Modifications to RF Zone to Allow Larger Homes

A request has been sent to City Council to hear our concerns regarding the levels of mitigation along the 156 Underpass corridor. We will keep you posted as to when and if they will allow this matter to be brought before the Council.

FHCA Contact: Joanna Whittingstall

Earlier this week the RCMP arrested a man suspected of being the mail thief who has been targeting Fraser Heights mailboxes for the past few months.

This is great news of course but we shouldn’t let down our guard lest other thieves pick up where this one left off. As Staff Sergeant MacAulay stated at Tuesday’s FHCA meeting, identity theft is a big problem in Surrey so it is important that we continue to be vigilant and take measures to protect ourselves such as emptying the mailbox daily.

The good work by the RCMP in this case is greatly appreciated.