Wednesday September 2, 2015 (Vol. 40 No. 70)
V O I C E
O F
W H I T E
R O C K
A N D
S O U T H
S U R R E Y
w w w. p e a c e a r c h n e w s . c o m
Helping the heartbreak: A grieving Surrey mother is honouring her stillborn daughter’s memory by raising money to ease the painful loss for other families. i see page 11
Mayor maintains White Rock faces lawsuit if it doesn’t heed plan for more residents by 2041
No legal mandate to add 7,000: Metro Melissa Smalley Staff Reporter
Wayne Baldwin mayor
Growth targets that would see White Rock’s population increase by 7,000 over the next 25 years are not legally binding, a planner with Metro Vancouver has confirmed. The projections, laid out in the Regional Growth Strategy (RGS) and adopted by White Rock in March 2011, are “to assist long-range planning and are guidelines only,” senior regional
planner Terry Hoff told Peace Arch News Monday. “It’s not that municipalities are mandated to have that population,” Hoff said. “It’s just a way to give a sense of what we should start thinking about in the future in terms of the number of people, the dwelling units and the jobs that would be reasonable to expect.” White Rock Mayor Wayne Baldwin, in a public letter to PAN last week, said the city is “required by provincial law”
to follow the RGS and “take its share of the forecast growth within the region.” When questioned Tuesday about whether the RGS was legally binding, Baldwin stood firm in his assertion. “In terms of land use, it is binding,” Baldwin said, pointing to a B.C. Supreme Court case last year in which Metro Vancouver challenged the Township of Langley’s authority over development planning. However, court records indicate that,
in that case, the presiding judge sided with Langley, stating that Metro “does not have superiority over land-use management within the boundaries of a municipality.” An appeal of the decision by Metro was later rejected. However, Baldwin noted that regardless of the outcome, the municipality still had to go to court. “The region is prepared to uphold the terms of the agreement on the RGS and i see page 4
Thousands powerless
After the storm Melissa Smalley & Tracy Holmes Staff Reporters
Lance Peverley photo
Rod Vernhjak photo Lance Peverley photo
20% Off all Squirrel-Proof Bird Feeders! On Sale Until September 30/15! We’re passionate about birds and nature. That’s shy we opened a Wild Birds Unlimited Nature Shop in our community.
Windstorm damage on the Peninsula includes a tree down in a South Surrey townhouse complex (top); lines still down Tuesday in the 15300-block of 28 Avenue (left); and a light standard across White Rock’s Marine Drive.
Thousands of Peninsula residents spent the weekend without power after a freak windstorm wreaked havoc on the Lower Mainland Saturday. According to BC Hydro – which asked for patience in the wake of “one of the biggest single-day storm events we have ever experienced” – nearly half a million customers were affected, with thousands of customers around Metro Vancouver still in the dark as of Peace Arch News press time Tuesday morning. While many in South Surrey had their power back by noon Sunday, others were not so fortunate – with some describing their neighbourhoods as seemingly “forgotten” by BC Hydro, as power lines remained strewn across some roads nearly 72 hours after the storm hit. “There’s nothing happening (in) our area. We actually haven’t seen a single BC Hydro truck,” Sheila Keating, a 19-year resident of the Elgin area, told PAN Monday morning. i see page 4
South Surrey & White Rock Artists’ Open House
Saturday, September 26 and Sunday, September 27 BIRDFOOD t '&&%&34 t ("3%&/ "$$&/54 t 6/*26& (*'54
2421 King George Blvd, Surrey, BC 604-536-4011 • www.surrey.wbu.com Open Mon-Sat 9:30-5:30, Sun 11-5
Map and info at www.peninsulaarttour.com Special thanks
19 A R T I S T S - 1 1 LO C AT I O N S to our sponsor
CIBC Wood Gundy