Special Features - Outlook 2018

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MAPLE RIDGE PITT MEADOWS

OUTLOOK Business. Development. Tourism. Transportation. Lifestyle.

Those are the guiding principles behind Outlook, a progress report about the vitality of Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows. From the area’s prosperous agricultural industry, to residential, commercial and industrial development, to capital infrastructure improvements, all are key to continued growth of both communities. In the seventh edition of Outlook, The News examines the area’s economic energy.

NOVEMBER 2018

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The Maple Ridge Pitt Meadows News

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The Maple Ridge Pitt Meadows News

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Downtown Maple Ridge towers on tap Changing the city’s skyline

recreation. Jeremy Towning is vice-president of the By Jim McGregor Swissreal Group and is involved in the hen a city is growing, but slowly planning and development of the project. He running out of space to build out, the agrees that these design elements are major solution is to go up and make as much use of considerations and assures that the project footprints as possible. considers all those factors. In otherwise, densify. “We are making this a destination area that Maple Ridge council recently gave approval will re-define Maple Ridge. By setting the to the first phase of a multi-tower condo project back from 224th and Dewdney, we project that will change the look of Maple are creating an open space for parades, city Ridge’s downtown. functions and create a major hub for the Council approved a permit to allow concentre of Maple Ridge,” he said. struction of four buildings on Dewdney “Another positive is job creation. We are Trunk Road at the western side of the preslooking at a million square feet of develent Haney Plaza. opment and the construction will create It’s part of a multi-phase, multi-year develthousands of jobs. This will be an environopment stretching from the plaza to 224th mentally conscious project. We are looking street, and from Dewdney Trunk Road to for a LEED silver rating, if not higher, which Brown Avenue. will make it the highest sustainable project in Overall, the entire project, when completed Maple Ridge.” in about a decade, will be almost a square LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environkilometre, with more than 800 condos, mental Design) is the most widely used townhouses or apartments. green building rating system in the world. The intent is to start the first phase by spring Available for virtually all buildings, commuof 2019. The development will have a major nity and home project types, LEED provides impact on the future of the downtown core, a framework to create healthy, highly effiand not without some challenges, as resicient and cost-saving green buildings. dents see the potential loss of a small town Towning is proud that the project is working atmosphere. toward LEED certification. Urban planners define the elements of a “The buildings will incorporate radiant solar successful transition and what makes for a panels on the roof that will heat the water, positive city experience: and triple-glazed glass will insulate for both • creating a feeling of welcome and safety; temperature and sound. We are working at • friendliness and people on the streets day the highest levels of sustainability.” and evening; Green space must be a key consideration in • a sense of place, character, and identity urban planning if the health of a city and that showcases the values and ideals of the its people are both considered important. A residents of the area; new, broader view of parks has also recently • history around you as a reminder of the been emerging. This new view focuses on past and giving context to the present; how policymakers, practitioners, and the • the diversity of the people and ideas that public can begin to think about parks as make a community whole and multi-faceted; valuable contributors to larger urban policy • a walkable city, friendly to pedestrians; objectives, such as job opportunities, youth • a magnet of entertainment and attractions; development, public health, and community • greenspace and easy access to nature and building.

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Nadja Gehriger, Jeremy Towning and Franz Gehriger, with SwissReal Group, are ready to get going on huge condo project on Dewdney Trunk Road and 224th Street in downtown Maple Ridge.

“We are including a central open space with playgrounds in the centre of the project and making this area an attraction for the residents. There will be bike lanes and signage throughout the area. Incorporating this space with retail, we are creating an organic, living, breathing area in the downtown core.” As with any major change, there are negative voices. Some residents are concerned with the loss of the small town identity and the demise of the ‘mom and pop stores.’ Towning points out that there are no big-box retailers planned for the development. “Any of the rental retail units we have will be offered to local Maple Ridge residents first. It is important to us to make sure we have business that reflect the values of the

municipality and with the people that are living there.” With over 200,000 square feet of residential space in the first phase, Towning points out that this is a major tax input for the city. Towning indicates the completed project will represent a total investment of approximately $1 billion. He estimates work will begin in 18 months to two years, depending on how long it takes to get the city approvals. The heavily phased construction will take up to a decade to complete. “It will have a European flair, in that it’s a city within a city, with a community park in its centre,” said Towning. “We want to plant a flag and say, ‘This is where the town core is.’”

Land needed to expand commercial, industrial tax base By Mike Morden, Maple Ridge mayor

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s someone who has been a business owner in this community for over three decades, I know that there are some incredible and innovative entrepreneurs in our community. Our council will be very focused on the implementation of the city's commercial and industrial strategy, especially ensuring that we have lands available for job creation in the community. The fact that the Kanaka Business Park, located in the northeast sector of our community, has sold out and is now under development reflects the need for lands to be designated to expand our commercial and industrial tax base.

A priority for our new council will be revisiting the Albion Area Plan, a place that has been identified as a prime location to create jobs in the retail and manufacturing sectors. As I mentioned in my inaugural address, our downtown is projected to grow by 10,000 citizens in the next decade. The concentrated growth in this area has already resulted in the opening of great new businesses to serve their neighbours. There are projects in the system that will increase the commercial footprint of the downtown and our council is very focused on engaging the community to determine how we can encourage the redevelopment of some of our existing properties to create a vibrant and active downtown.

I expect that our downtown will be the social hub of the community where there is activity into the evening. We are seeing leaders in the business community who are getting onboard early. The development is already happening, and with a coordinated plan around public safety and a strong cultural plan, the downtown has huge upside potential. We know that our home-based businesses are an incubator for both the retail and service sector. I, like many businesses, graduated from the dining room table, into my garage before buying office space in the Maple Ridge Industrial Park. This is a key part of our local economy. When you take a look at what's happening

Maple Ridge Mayor Mike Morden around the community you can see the business leaders and innovators stepping into our community as we move toward the 100,000 population mark. Our council will be focused on encouraging economic development across the spectrum of business size and types. That's what will create a strong and sustainable local economy.

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Technology on the rise A focus on supporting home-based businesses and a tech task force will enhance technology business growth. By Ronda Payne

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echnology-based businesses are on the rise everywhere, so it’s no surprise Maple Ridge is seeing its share of growth in this sector as well. In fact, the community is ideally positioned to embrace more micro, small and mid-sized tech firms that can support local to international businesses with IT service needs. A variety of factors are at play to bring more of these types of businesses to Maple Ridge. Recognition of the benefits more tech businesses will bring to the community are driving the municipality’s push to stay focused on bolstering more win-win situations with tech companies. Josef Hans Lara is the co-founder of a local tech company (Big Bang Innovation Services), where he works as a consultant for software development companies. He also chairs the Maple Ridge Economic Development Committee. Lara sees the large number of home-based businesses as being a significant plus for technology companies. “The IT industry is the one that is easier to implement in our city, in the conditions that we have, because IT businesses can start at the kitchen table,” he says. “A tremendous number of people start businesses from home. Maple Ridge is one of those communities that has a large number of home businesses.” As one of the fastest growing industries in the province, IT professionals are choosing to live in communities like Maple Ridge as opposed to staying in downtown Vancouver or other densely-urban areas. Todd Kane, owner of Evolved Consulting, made that choice based on a two factors: house pricing and transit. “I was still commuting downtown at the time and we had been living in Germany for a bit. We moved back and I had kind of been priced out of the market,” he explains. “I said I would ride the train, but would not sit in a car all day. So it was kind of a combination of housing prices and transit options.” Not long after finding a home, in early 2016, Kane went to full-time work in his business, which his wife is now also part of. The company consults to IT service providers which work with small and mid-sized businesses. At present, none of Kane’s clients are in Maple Ridge and his ability to offer services around the world comes from the technology advancements that have grown mainstream in recent years. “It’s a new way of life,” he says. “You can choose where you live and the function of how you work.” Lara’s business runs in much the same way. “It’s the perfect fit in our city,” Lara said of tech firms. “It doesn’t require huge development infrastructure, for roads and that, but

will require connectivity. Many people will look for the quality of life that we enjoy in Maple Ridge. A lot of people in the IT industry work from home.” Kane notes that living in Maple Ridge has allowed him more work-life balance and even makes family outings on a Friday afternoon possible given all the options of family-friendly things to do in the region. A balance of quality of life and high-paying IT jobs can be found in Maple Ridge with the city’s support of the industry. While many, like Kane, may move here while working tech jobs elsewhere, some of those individuals will do as he did and decide to start a business of their own within the community. He notes that starting his business in Maple Ridge was made easier because the process of getting a business license was “dead” simple. “The city made a smart decision in looking to the home-based business,” he added. “Unless there’s a reason for physical services… startup businesses can absolutely start in the basement.” These businesses then grow and contribute to the community which will create more local jobs and provide more opportunities for youth to work within their community in an industry they are naturally aligned with, Lara said. He adds that the more businesses there are in Maple Ridge, the less stress there will be on residential taxes due to the increase of the business tax base. “Bellevue, Redmond, these cities [in Washington state] began hosting tech companies, they basically transformed themselves,” notes Lara. He feels that Maple Ridge is poised to do the same. Kane gives examples of local businesses MultiTrends and Left (Left of the Dot), where the business owners used to work downtown and “got tired of the commute” so established their own tech companies in the area. Left recently received federal funding for a new $2.13 million research project. The project is a partnership with the University of Guelph, with a goal to bring online connectivity to Canada’s northern communities. The five-year research program will provide support for up to 120 graduate student internships from universities across Canada. “I hope to see more of that,” Kane said. “If we can localize the talent and the opportunities. There is a great available talent pool of senior talent throughout the Fraser Valley. [These people may be saying] ‘the condo lifestyle’ doesn’t work for me, so I’ll live in the beauty of Maple Ridge and find some interesting products and services to work on that are

The federal funding for Left flows through Mitacs (formerly Mathematics of Information Technology and Complex Systems), which is a Vancouver-based nonprofit national research organization that manages and funds research and training programs for students. more in the developing ecosystem.” Lara agrees that there will be more IT-oriented people and businesses coming to the community, but notes it requires effort to attract them. “We see that there’s a lot of people who do consulting also in the city. But it’s never enough. We need to foster more IT,” he said. “We’re trying to promote… to start making Maple Ridge attractive to people in the industry, as opposed to the very expensive propositions in Gastown or Vancouver because their workforce may be here. IT companies are choosing to be where their workers are.” Left is an example of that – a tech company founded in 2010. Left has multiple brands under its company umbrella including Left Travel, Left Technologies Inc. and RightMesh. The purpose of RightMesh is to use the company’s mobile mesh network to connect the world, providing connectivity to the 3.9 billion people who currently don’t have that connectivity so many take for granted. Left will contribute an additional $1.1 million to support the research project for a total of $2.13 million in funding. According to Jason Ernst, Left’s chief technology officer, through the eNuk project, RightMesh will allow people in Northern Canadian communities like Rigolet, Nunatsiavut the ability to collect and document data about their land, ice and experiences with climate change. They can then share it for greater understanding of their unique regional challenges. Climate change has negatively impacted food security, safety and health and wellness in Rigolet. The community also has only one internet service provider and no cellular infrastructure within a reasonable proximity. The funding allows Left to accelerate the existing partnership with the town to implement RightMesh. Ernst notes the project is the largest partnership with the School of Computer Science at the University of Guelph. “RightMesh will enable some applications we

take for granted here, such as text messaging, since there are no cellular towers,” Ernst says. “Using RightMesh will allow some data to be sent locally within the town. Like a large LAN reducing the amount of data sent over the limited internet connections which exist there. This funding will let us expedite our work connecting the community of Rigolet, providing life-saving data without dependence on traditional internet.” Other activities putting Maple Ridge on the tech radar include the all-day Innovation in Emerging Cities forum that was hosted at The ACT in April 2018. A similar event will again be planned and staged by the city’s Economic Development committee’s Tech Task Force. This second forum is expected to be hosted in the spring of 2019. “We created a tech task force,” Lara said. “We want to be on the map as a tech-friendly city. I think we’ve finally crossed the line in becoming an event on the calendar [of tech professionals]. We have represented Maple Ridge and what it has to offer.” Kane notes that while encouraging IT companies to come to the community is important, it isn’t the only way to look at IT jobs from a growth perspective. “With the growth of the city we’ll naturally see more small to medium business popping up,” he says. “You don’t need to be a technology company to have high technology needs.” He notes that these needs are increasingly being met by freelance-style IT people who may be home-based businesses or may have office space. Kane says working remotely and having teams that do the same will help reduce stress on Maple Ridge’s limited supply of physical space while meeting the growing tech needs of the community and its businesses. “The technology industry could be one of those industries that transforms and contributes positively to the community of Maple Ridge and could grow faster than many other industries,” notes Lara.

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Pitt Meadows airport expansion and upgrades expected to cost $20 million New YPK board of directors moves forward with development plans By Brandon Tucker

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itt Meadows Regional Airport is getting quite the upgrade, and while the updated budget falls short of the original $60 million estimate, it’s still “a significant investment,” through the eyes of Mayor Bill Dingwall. “Our airport general manager, Guy Miller, estimates that the three projects would come out to around $20-22 million,” Dingwall said. The upgrades consist of three different building development projects being brought forward by Sky Helicopters, Fly Guy Aviation, and Laplante Airport Holdings. These projects were originally approved by the previous Pitt Meadows Airport Society board of directors, which has recently gone through some major changes. At the new council’s first meeting, members appointed three new members to the Pitt Meadows Airport Society board of directors: Mayor Bill Dingwall, Coun. Nicole MacDonald, and Chief Administrative Officer Mark Roberts. Similar to the original budget reported, the original sizes of these projects have also been changed from the first reported sizes. Each of the projects has grown exponentially in

size, with the Laplante Airport Holdings project almost tripling in size. “Sky Helicopters is about 6,500 square metres of space and their main mandate will be maintenance of helicopters and similar things,” Dingwall explained. “Fly Guy Aviation is about 3,600 square metres of space for an aircraft service centre and office space that goes along with it. Laplante Airport Holdings is about 74,000 square metres and is going to be five hangars dedicated to helicopter maintenance and similar sorts of things.” All three of the projects are expected to be completed by late 2019, with occupancy occurring in early 2020. Such large developments don’t come without their criticism, and in this case it’s been from the citizens of Pitt Meadows who have expressed concern over a rise in noise coming from this increase in air traffic. These concerns have not gone unnoticed. “I’m happy with this new investment in the airport, but I do think one of the things that could have been done better was to have a public information session for the citizens of Pitt Meadows,” Dingwall explained. “It’s a really important step for the board and the city to have that engagement with our citizens.” Dingwall and other members of council hope that the advantages of these projects will make the citizens overlook nuisances like an increase in airport noise.

“These brand new hangars and buildings will look really good and they’ll modernize and professionalize the airport,” added Dingwall. “It will drive operating dollars to the airport through their leases, and for Pitt Meadows it drives extra taxes.” In addition to the three major projects, the airport also plans to conduct a $1.1 million apron rehabilitation. “The apron rehabilitation is part of a ten year capital plan that includes upgrades for both safety and functionality,” Dingwall said. The three airport upgrades consist of “Guy Miller is moving this forward and is three different building development projects. excited about doing a lot of these changes.”

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Preparing for arrival of B-Line bus Study will try to match land use with transportation

The goal is to ensure that jobs, services, and housing are integrated with the future B-Line bus service, the city said when anBy Phil Melnychuk nouncing the study. It’s called a land-use study because the n about a year from now, a big part of the overall goal is decide how to use the land grand plan for the heart of Maple Ridge between Lougheed and Dewdney Trunk should be in place. Road. The goal is to find a balance that will Once the City of Maple Ridge completes allow as much population density as possible its Lougheed Corridor Land Use Study and along the route in order to support transit Metro Vancouver does the same for the and businesses – while at the same time proentire Lougheed corridor from Coquitlam to tecting Maple Ridge’s downtown, said Maple Maple Ridge, the future of the big road that Ridge’s planning director Christine Carter. serves as the main artery for Maple Ridge Workshops, open houses and a communishould become clear. ty-wide survey will also help get the public’s Council, in September 2018, approved the ideas for the area. The study’s expected to start of the Lougheed Corridor Land Use have its recommendations ready by next Study to prepare for the arrival of B-Line summer. buses in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows. “We’re going to have a chance to really look In about a year from now, the B-Line bus at it. What land-use makes the best sense – service will zoom customers from Haney if you’ve got some of the B-Line stops out Place Mall in downtown Maple Ridge to front,” Carter said. SkyTrain in Coquitlam Central station in Carter pointed out the study won’t change about 40 minutes, at 10-minute frequencies, particular zones in the area but instead only during rush hour. will decide land use. If the land use or land The Lougheed Corridor Land Use Study designation in the official community plan will look at land uses along Lougheed, from is changed, people then later could apply to 222nd Street to Maple Ridge’s western borhave zoning changed. der, and include properties on the south side The B-Line buses will stop at Haney Place, of the highway, as well as the north side of Laity Street, 203rd Street, and Harris Road, Dewdney Trunk Road and in between both in Pitt Meadows, with future stops possible at 222nd Street and Meadowtown mall, in roads.

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Pitt Meadows proposed, but not available by opening in late 2019. While the city does its study, it will also take part in Metro Vancouver’s Lougheed Corridor Land Use and Monitoring Study that also involves Pitt Meadows, Port Coquitlam and Coquitlam. That will also form part of the city’s own review. “The issue has always been, how much density do we allow along that corridor – because we don’t want to detract from the success of the downtown,” Carter said. “We want to continue to support the town centre. I just think it’s [downtown] on a real, positive course.” An economist will help sketch out the effects of planning changes on the town centre, just to make sure that’s not accidently affected. “There are some really nice developments coming to the town centre and we want to support them and we don’t want to make any changes along Lougheed that would detract from the success of the downtown.” What planning staff don’t want to encourage is for businesses to locate outside the downtown and weaken a growing town centre. Planning also must ensure there are places for B-Line buses to pull into, to spare backing up the highway. Those spaces are currently in TransLink’s design process. “We envision it will all come together.” Carter said that the land-use study will also

B-Lines begin running late next year connecting Maple Ridge to Coquitlam Central SkyTrain station create a foundation for a later and larger Lougheed area plan, which will set out in detail how the Lougheed Highway corridor will develop. The land-use study should also ensure that there’s enough right of way for transit. Several years ago, the city also identified Lougheed Highway as the route for a future SkyTrain connection to the downtown. Former mayor Nicole Read wanted the extension of SkyTrain into Maple Ridge to be adopted into TransLink’s long-term plans. Former Pitt Meadows mayor John Becker said the intent is to ensure enough land is set aside along the Lougheed corridor for rapid transit at some point in the future. The review of Pitt Meadows’s official community plan now underway will also consider the transportation studies. The city has put a hold on any development applications on that stretch of Lougheed until the study is complete.

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Developments lead to benefits Amenity charges improve what the community already has and potentially adds more facilities. By Ronda Payne

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ther communities around the Lower Mainland have had amenity charges on residential developments for many years, yet it was only in 2016 when Maple Ridge council adopted a city-wide Community Amenity Contribution program on new residential developments. Amenity charges help fund things like sports fields, arenas, pools and other community facilities not covered by taxation and development charges. At the time of its introduction, CACs weren’t applied to developments in the town centre, in order to encourage growth in that particular part of Maple Ridge. Coun Gordy Robson explains that as of October 2018, there was approximately $5.5 million in amenity contributions collected, with another $8.5 million anticipated from applications at various stages of approval by council. None of these funds have been spent at this point and no final decisions on expenditures have been made. A current example of how amenity charges may be used is the field refurbishment currently underway at 116 Ave. and Lougheed Highway.

Council must make the final decision on the use of the funds. But according to Robson, the writing is on the wall given the recreational projects already started around the community. The $14 million in collected and expected funding (combined with other future expected funds) could ensure that the $23 to $24 million estimated spend on a range of new recreation amenities may not hit taxpayers in the wallet. The updated Telosky Park/Thomas Haney secondary project at Lougheed and 116 Ave. is set to include two new synthetic surface multi-purpose playing fields, repositioned baseball diamonds, improved lighting, a field house and other details. The facilities are something residents are likely to make great use of, but may have found it hard to swallow the price tag. Through an alternative approval process (those opposed cast votes, those in agreement took no action) held in early 2018, council received approval from residents to borrow up to $49 million for the range of recreational facility upgrades and developments that include Telosky Park, Thomas Haney secondary, Maple Ridge Lawn

Maple Ridge Leisure Centre is undergoing renovations. Bowling Club, Thomas Haney tennis courts, playgrounds, fields and sports courts north of Thomas Haney south of Golden Ears elementary and other projects. “We fundamentally changed the way we’re funding our amenity projects,” Robson says. “We weren’t charging amenity charges [prior to this council’s term]. All the rest of the valley does [collect amenity charges]. We got ourselves authorized to borrow up to $50 million to get ourselves started. It took us almost 2 years to get a plan in place which is underway now. That plan is spending … about $23, $24 million and that’s the kid’s fields and other amenities underway like

the Maple Ridge track, baseball fields, rugby fields, lighting and that. Although we asked the public to allow us to borrow $50 million, we probably won’t be borrowing any of it.” Robson explains that as the CACs are collected they are deposited into the fund. “So by the time we get through the current projects by about the end of the year, we will have gone through about $25 million,” he says. He believes the additional $10 million required to completely fund the projects currently underway will come from other future developments so that no borrowing Continued on page B10 Come to our

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Continued from page B9 towards the $50 million approved by taxpayers will be required to complete the projects. It’s a win in Robson’s eyes, albeit a late one, in that amenity charges have been a successful method of funding various facilities to enhance the lives of a community’s taxpayers for many years. He thinks the community should have established the program years ago. “In 2014 the council that got elected then actually tackled the issue again and after the debate, installed the amenity charges,” notes Robson. “As growth happens we’re going to need amenities for the larger community. So rather than taxing the tax-payers, we’re going to use these amenity charges.” Developers like Ryan Lucy, president of Morningstar Homes, sees the amenity charges as beneficial to the families that will purchase the residential development company’s new homes. One Morningstar project, Roslyn Ridge, is being built at 116 Ave. and 232 Street, near the fields under redevelopment. “It’s not unique in the Lower Mainland,” Lucy says of the fees. “A lot of municipalities charge CACs. No one likes to pay more fees, but we’re happy to pay for amenities in the community. It’s good for our buyers. We have over 200 homes going in, in that area at 116 Ave. and it will be a great benefit to the kids who will live there.” Morningstar Homes actually contributed more to the amenity fund than necessary to help make the projects near its new site a reality. Prior to implementing the amenity charges, the municipality went through a detailed and robust consultation process that included members of the development community like Morningstar. Lucy notes those in the company who were involved in the consultation were satisfied with the process and he feels that the fees are “fairly reasonable.” Frank Quinn, general manager public works and development services with the city of Maple Ridge notes the consultation process with the developers was positive. “Their feedback was helpful, there was no opposition,” he says. Before the introduction of the CACs in 2016, there was a density bonus zoning program instituted in 2013 for the Albion area. These Albion density bonus reserve funds have been combined with CACs and came from developers that received an optional density bonus with the provision of an amenity charge. Density bonuses like the Albion one are implemented by the city by identifying a fixed base level of density for development in a certain neighbourhood or area. However, if a developer wishes to pay a voluntary additional amenity contribution, they may build to a pre-identified maximum density. This allows the developer to create greater density within the same space while the community receives amenity funding in return. In December 2017, after a one-year review of the CAC program, council decided that developments in the town centre should no longer be exempt from CAC fees. Thus,

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they now fall in line with the existing CAC charges of $3,100 per apartment unit, $4,100 per townhouse and $5,100 per single-family home/lot according to Quinn. Duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes were previously exempt from the charges, but the building site would now be subject to a lot charge. Additionally, Quinn notes, there are no CACs on affordable, special needs or rental housing. Quinn notes there will be an annual review of the amenity charge programs by city staff. This review will be put forth to council for consideration with the next review expected in December. Fees are collected from developers when rezoning occurs. If a site is already accurately zoned for a development project and the zoning provides a density bonus, then the density bonus amenity fess are due at the building permit stage. Robson explains the process from initial zoning application readings and meetings to finally zoning can take two to three years which means there is a lengthy lag between a developer putting forward their ideas to the time they make a payment to the amenity fund. Being a latecomer to the party of a Lower Mainland municipality collecting amenity fees, it’s fair to wonder how Maple Ridge stacks up against other communities. “It is very difficult to compare our amenity charges with other communities,” says Quinn. “Some other community’s rates are per square foot, per lot or per unit. As well, each community may be focused on different community amenity priorities.” “As far as amenities [fees] go we are probably the lowest in the valley,” says Robson. Lucy agrees that Maple Ridge is one of the most affordable communities as far as amenity fees go. “I think I agree with Coun. Robson,” he says. “These are great amenities. It’s close to one of our projects. I think we upped our amenities in that area by about $1 million dollars.” Other amenity projects proposed, but not yet underway, include adding another sheet of ice to the Planet Ice facility. “We are probably not going to have to borrow any of that $25 million unless we build a rink,” Robson says. “We’re hoping to get Planet Ice to add another rink there [at the existing Planet Ice site]. Borrowing depends upon changes to the current contract [between the city and Planet Ice] and who funds it. That discussion is ongoing.” Another new program was recently passed that allows for “density bonusing for the whole community”, according to Robson. He explain that if a development’s density goes above what it is currently zoned for, that “lift”, or increased money collected on the number of units built will go into a social fund to be spent on social housing. “Once we get enough money in there, we will be buying properties suitable for social housing,” he explains. “The last council decided that the city is far better off to acquire land and lease that land to an operator with a proven track record [of managing social housing projects]. The value of the property will still be in the taxpayers’ hands.”

The Maple Ridge Pitt Meadows News

www.mapleridgenews.com

Friday, November 16, 2018 B11

Golden Ears Way – easing the congestion Mayor wants TransLink to fourlane Golden Ears Way up to 203rd Street.

But how often has this been detrimental to local businesses? Businesses located at the end of the offramp from the bridge into Maple Meadows Business Park have seen traffic increase by By Jim McGregor three or four times over the past five years. Vehicles sometimes even get stalled on the e’ve all experienced the frustration of bridge when the roundabout at Golden Ears being stuck in a traffic jam, wedged Way and 113B Avenue gets jammed, much in a queue of honking vehicles blocking the worse now since the bridge tolls came off. way between you and your target destinaTraffic is particularly bad between 6:30 a.m. tion. But for those who are often stuck in the and 7:30 a.m. and between 3 p.m. and 4:30 Golden Ears Bridge traffic at rush hour, there p.m. is light at the end of the bridge. In the initial plan, the road through the busiNewly elected Mayor Mike Morden wants ness park was never intended to be the main TransLink to four-lane Golden Ears Way access point to Maple Ridge off the Golden from when it exits the Golden Ears Bridge at Ears Bridge. Lougheed Highway up to 203rd Street. The But the growth in traffic through the current two-lane, new road, is just creating business park is likely linked to growing bottlenecks. congestion on the exit points farther north No one likes traffic. People also dislike on Maple Meadows Way and Golden Ears congestion and gridlock. Congestion makes Way. Studies have shown the main reason people late to work. It causes stresses before for this volume increase on 113B Avenue is you even get there. Deliveries can’t arrive on an increase in congestion on the Lougheed time. All that gas costs money. Highway, and on Golden Ears Way east to The effects of routine exposure to traffic 210th Street. jamming on mood, psychology, blood pres- Widening of Golden Ears Way to four lanes sure and task performance of car drivers are from Lougheed Highway to 210th Street numerous. And traffic jamming is seen by could help. The road could be expanded to many as a major environmental stressor that four lanes within the existing right of way. hinders our movement between two or more When the bridge was constructed in 2009, Lougheed Highway and Maple Meadows destinations.

W

Newly elected Mayor Mike Morden wants TransLink to four-lane Golden Ears Way Way were intended to be the main exit points. According to TransLink stats, monthly traffic volume has increased since the tolls were removed. In September 2016, a total of 1,155,300 vehicles crossed the tolled bridge. In September 2017, that number had jumped to 1,464,200 – an increase of 27 per cent. In October 2017, the Golden Ears Bridge saw an increase to 1,522,000 crossings, compared to 1,140,600 in October 2016. That’s an increase of 33 per cent. Traffic dropped slightly for the two following months, when 1,467,000 vehicles crossed in November, although that was still a 31-percent increase from the previous November, while 1,357,400 vehicles crossed in December.

Yet traffic’s relationship to the economy of whole metro regions is much more complicated, so much so that researchers haven’t entirely explained it. A staff report notes the 128th Avenue-Abernethy Way corridor is one of only three east-west corridors in Maple Ridge. The road recently has been widened to four lanes from 210th to 224th street, while four-laning of the road from 224th to 232nd Street is in the design stage with construction already in the city’s budget. Another proposed widening project, the extension of 256th East from Webster’s Corners is still in the planning stages. The cost of the project is a hotly debated issue and it may be a few years before any movement is made on this section.

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The Maple Ridge Pitt Meadows News

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The Maple Ridge Pitt Meadows News

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Friday, November 16, 2018 B13

west coast auto group A LEADER in the Outlook of

MAPLE RIDGE PITT MEADOWS Since 1963 “It’s good when you have more than one type of vehicle. I call it friendly competition.”

Welcome to West Coast Auto Group - your automotive specialists in the Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows area’s! C

urrently, our five dealerships sell over 5,000 new and used vehicles every year while over 200 employees work within the group. We support local customers, local non-profits and local employees and their families and have for generations. Our results are based on a longterm marketing and brand building strategy. “It’s good to be diversified with different brands. That’s all part of it,” Scott Jones says. “We’re very aggressive in our marketing, not only tactically which is pricing and payments, but also with brand and image building.” “We’ve concentrated quite a bit on building the West Coast Auto Group image. We’ve been doing that for a long time and built ourselves up on that name and our service over time,” Scott says. By combining administration

and finance centres through group ownership, our costs can be cut and economies of scale are achieved which benefits our customers and staff. “Most definitely, that is the trend,” says Scott. “There are fewer and fewer stand-alone operators and more and more groups taking over.” That might seem to reduce competition, but Scott says sales managers within the same group compete for each sale while for the final reality check, there are at least 10 separately owned dealerships for each make in the Lower Mainland. “It’s good when you have more than one type of vehicle. I call it friendly competition. It’s very tough competing in this day and age within the business climate that we’re in right now.” The Internet has changed

how the automotive industry works. No longer do shoppers rely on a car salesman to explain the features. While most car shoppers still want to test drive a new vehicle, many do all of their homework online first, accomplishing about 80 to 90 per cent of the buying process, Scott says. “That’s becoming more and more important on a daily basis. ” Michelle Jones-Ruppel, who runs the Ford Lincoln and Nissan stores, agrees – the Internet has changed the car business, “with the amount of knowledge our customers can get, which I’m not opposed to they already have a handle on what they’re looking for. We’re here to fill that need and to continue servicing that vehicle until they’re ready for the next one!” Customers are more prepared when they walk into a dealership but that

means the dealership and sales staff have to be better, more knowledgeable, she points out. The cyclical nature of the industry means if sales of one manufacturer cools, the other picks up. As a manager, she realizes staff are the priority. “So you build yourself a strong team, strong managers, surround yourself with good people. It’s the basis of our success.” “Growing our business, retaining our customers and building customer loyalty because of our service and quality vehicles is what West Coast Auto Group is all about,” says Michelle Jones-Ruppel and Scott Jones.

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B14 Friday, November 16, 2018

The Maple Ridge Pitt Meadows News

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Changes to Maple Ridge roadways As Lougheed Highway improvements wrap up, Haney Bypass upgrades will begin.

removal of existing trees, but Pollock explains that developments for urban trees will make the new trees healthier than their predecessors and will prevent sidewalk and curb displacement from roots. Some of the old trees By Ronda Payne were root bound and not as healthy as they may have appeared. ost Maple Ridge residents are well-acquainted with the changes happening to “The standard was often, dig a hole, put a tree in and sometimes not the right tree,” he said. Lougheed Highway in the downtown area. “We actually install Silva Cells. That’s almost The three-phase revitalization project of the like a skeleton that supports soil. It allows you major thoroughfare will soon be coming to to build a sidewalk on top of soil. The trees a close and on its heels will be changes and upgrades to another important through-route will be healthier.” The second aspect – that of maintenance – – the Haney Bypass. The changes to Lougheed Hwy. began in 2009, must be done because roads have a finite life, Pollock added. when the Spirit Square was built on 224th Given the amount of travel on the major Street, according to David Pollock, Maple corridor, the highway was worn and needed Ridge municipal engineer. replacement. “Then, around 2010/2011, we did Lougheed Businesses in the area have struggled with the Hwy. from 222nd to 224th St. and the rest of changes, acutely aware that the lack of parking 224th, as well,” he said. and sidewalks were adversely impacting their “Then we did 226th to 228th in 2013th. So businesses. But with increased communicathis would be the third phase on Lougheed, tion from the city, most seem to accept the which would be from 224th to 226th.” changes as beneficial in the long run. The refurbishment is two-fold: to revitalize Ron Chang, owner of SportsTraders was just the downtown area while also replacing the seeing the beginnings of construction in front busy and worn roadway. of his business, but won’t see any affects since “It’s a way to improve the pedestrian realm. A he is retiring. way to provide good facilities,” he said. “A way “No I wouldn’t say it’s impacted my business to maintain parking along the street and [the because we’re closing soon. We’re retiring, upgrades] also allow us to build in amenities so whatever we have left here, there’s not too like street trees and build in street furniture many things,” he explains. as well.” “It should look very nice once it’s all done. Many residents were concerned about the The other side of Lougheed Highway looks

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quite nice.” As a resident of the community for more than a decade, Chang feels the upgrade is necessary and a positive. “I think it will bring more people in,” he says. “The city will look a lot nicer.” Chang feels that the amount of communication he has received from the city has been good. Someone has visited him weekly to explain what is happening and to provide printed information. He hopes parking will continue to be offered along the street as he will be renting the building to a daycare when his business closes. “It’s always a challenge when you’re working around … houses or existing businesses, to maintain access,” Pollock said. “It’s somewhat the classic term, ‘short-term pain, long-term gain.’ In this case, staff go out and introduce themselves to all the businesses and pretty much every week they go out and have a chat with the business. If you have a front door that’s on Lougheed Highway that’s going to be disturbed, you know about it and you have temporary access provided.” Signage and temporary sidewalks have been part of the efforts to alleviate the stress businesses have been feeling. Pollock notes the city has been doing its best to listen to business concerns. It’s an important tactic as the Lougheed Highway project wraps up (in the first quarter of 2019) and the changes to the Haney Bypass begin in 2019. “The Ministry of Transportation started advising of Haney Bypass upgrades in

2013/2014,” Pollock said. The upgrades include more capacity at the 222nd Street and Kanaka Way intersections with Lougheed Highway, a traffic signal at Callaghan Avenue and four-laning from Lougheed Highway at 222nd St. to River Road to allow for easier merging onto the mypass. The project is estimated at $22.3 million. “The plan and the hope would be that as traffic increases that the ministry would increase it to four lanes along the Haney Bypass,” Pollock said. “This is the first stage.” While Maple Ridge council hoped the Salvation Army Ridge Meadows Ministry building at the corner of Lougheed Highway and 222nd St. would have been demolished in the process of twinning the right hand turning lanes off Lougheed Highway onto the Bypass, this is not part of the plan. There will also be a second left turning lane off Lougheed Hwy. onto the bypass at Kanaka Creek Way. The changes are part of the ministry’s and federal government’s $70-million investment in highways from Maple Ridge to Silverdale. “It is the jurisdiction of the province,” Pollock said of the bypass improvements. “But the city works with the province in terms of dealing with the concerns. In this case, the city has worked with the ministry and their design team to bring our concerns to the table to get what we needed incorporated into that as well.” Work is expected to begin in early 2019 and complete in 2020.

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The Maple Ridge Pitt Meadows News

Friday, November 16, 2018 B15

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The Maple Ridge Pitt Meadows News

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Maple Ridge tourism strategy making progress One new initiative is an ‘Ale Trail.’ By Jim McGregor

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n December 2017, the City of Maple Ridge released its five-year tourism strategy. The document is founded on an engagement process with local and regional tourism operators, arts and culture organizations and local government in order to both secure the benefit of their knowledge and experience and to build support and ownership for plan implementation. Lino Siracusa, director of Economic Development and Civic Properties for the City of Maple Ridge, is pleased with the progress in addressing many of the strategies identified in the document. “We wanted to ensure that these ideas would be directed not only at the tourists but would also spur an interest from the residents of our own community as well. We have created a promotional video that gets rave reviews every time it’s aired and we have been working with events promoters to advertise any local events taking place in the community on social media or other campaigns to get the word out to our residents. We have been advertising the events on the Kwantlen billboard on Lougheed Hwy. and every two weeks we promote a different event in town,” Siracusa said. “We need to build our tourism on the

strengths of our community. We have this tremendous outdoor environment and we are all about nature. We have plenty of access to many amenities but we need to encourage the people coming out to experience them to learn about and experience our Town Centre. “Not many areas have what we have and we are looking at strategies to make the town centre more appealing, more walkable and consequently more enticing for both visitors and residents alike,” he added. The recommended strategies that enhance experiences and amenities increase the livability of the community for residents, making the destination more enjoyable for visitors. In the strategy: • a vision for tourism in Maple Ridge; • tourism objectives; • guiding principles for tourism services delivery; • recommended governance model and structure; • mission of the proposed tourism advisory committee; • recommended funding model; • Maple Ridge’s unique selling proposition and target markets; During the Tourism Task Force meeting, participants reviewed and agreed on many elements of a vision for tourism in Maple

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Ridge. These key vision elements: • year-round visitor economy contributing to the community’s economic health and quality of life for residents; • tourism that is vibrant and sustainable – a vital element of the local economy that is respectful of environmental and social values; • tourism is community-driven, resulting in strong resident support for the industry and recognition of the value of tourism; • tourism opportunities that provide value to both residents and visitors recognizing that a great place to visit, is also often a great place to live. “We have some very unique agri-tourism opportunities here that don’t exist elsewhere. We are putting together more amenities around the farming community and bringing in more tours for that sector,” Siracusa said. “We have been successful in accessing some of the funding from Destination B.C. by providing them with the collateral material we are able to be included in their promotions and this partnership helps bolster our limited budget. “We have been listening to people to get new ideas and offer what they want. One new initiative is an ‘Ale Trail.’ This is a great opportunity to encourage people to come out and sample the fine beer that is brewed locally

Maple Ridge has some unique agri-tourism opportunities, such as Golden ears Cheesecrafters. and at the same time, enjoy the itinerary we have set up that will showcase some of our nature and recreation spots. “This will complement our Circle Farm Tour and the Scenic 7 tour, which highlights the features of Highway 7. All of these initiatives encourage the local business community to get involved as well and show the visitors we have things that other communities don’t,” he said. “We are also listening to the people who are passionate about cycling and we know we recognize that we have safe and divided cycle paths, easy trails to ride and we also have some scenic off road mountain bike areas so we plan to look at meeting all the needs and making this a destination for recreational and racing bikes. “As we have followed the Tourism Strategy, this year has been all about creating a ‘Maple Ridge identity.’ We continue to build on the strategies and we are excited about the opportunities ahead.”

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The Maple Ridge Pitt Meadows News

Friday, November 16, 2018 B17

Aquilini family behind new business park plan Golden Eagle proposes development on former Pelton Property

family, which operated a tree nursery at the site. The Pelton family proposed to develop the site, but was refused by the ALC in 2010. Rather than trying to have the entire 202acre parcel removed from the ALR, Golden By Neil Corbett Eagle is proposing to remove a 56-acre he land known as the Pelton properparcel for a business park development. It ty represents a significant economic would potentially contain a film studio and opportunity for Maple Ridge, but its future temporary accommodations for movie inlies in the hands of the Agricultural Land dustry professionals, which would employ an Commission. estimated 925 people, according to a report Golden Eagle Group, a subsidiary of the Aq- by city hall staff. uilini Investment Group, has been given the The proposal would also include agricultural blessing of Maple Ridge council to pursue uses, as the applicant would donate five acres having this 56-acre parcel, located near the to the University of the Fraser Valley to be entrance to the Golden Ears Bridge, removed used for incubator farms for new farmers. from the Agricultural Land Reserve. There would also be a donation of $2 million Former mayor Nicole Read said in July, in land, cash and facilities to the university when the plan was approved, that “jobs are to develop a food innovation centre. important.” The proposal is also to remediate the rest of The Aquilini Investment Group, best known the land to restore it to productive agriculas the owners of the Vancouver Canucks tural land. It has been damaged by greenNHL franchise, have also put together a houses and other buildings, driveways and championship agriculture team in their concrete slabs. Golden Eagle Group. Its blueberry and The company would then replace the 56 cranberry crops, along with a hardwood tree acres removed from the ALR with a parcel nursery, covering almost 5,000 acres in Pitt of land the same size in Pitt Meadows, seven Meadows, make it one of the biggest farms kilometers away near Sheridan Hill. It is proin the province. ductive farmland, already growing blueberThe Pelton Property is a 202-acre parcel at ries, but it is not protected in the ALR. Jim Chu, spokesman for Golden Eagle, the corner of Golden Ears Way and 203rd explained the company’s proposal has been Street. It was formerly owned by the Pelton

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submitted to the ALC as paperwork. In the future, the company will get an opportunity to make a presentation to the ALC in person, and the ALC will also visit the site before making a decision. He believes Golden Eagle has a good chance of being granted an exclusion. “The land we want to exclude is not farmable – it’s damaged by the tree farm,” said Chu, and added that the entire proposal is a net gain to the farm community. “It’s really good for agriculture,” he said. “And it creates badly needed local jobs – well-paying jobs.” Detractors of the plan, whose goal is to protect farmland, have said this property could be the first domino to fall, to be followed by other properties in the area. Chu said other applicants won’t be able to craft a proposal like Golden Eagle’s. “Our proposal is unique. We are not land speculators, we are B.C.’s largest cash crop farmer [by dollar value],” he said. He said other parcels of land have not been identified by city hall as desirous for industrial development, and other developers are unlikely to have farmland that is not in the ALR to exchange. “This is not a slippery slope type of situation,” he said. “And three quarters of that site will remain as productive farmland.”

An aerial view of the Pelton property, showing the greenhouses for the tree farm that was operated by the former owner. Maple Ridge Coun. Gordy Robson, a former mayor, was part of council when the exclusion proposal was at city hall in the past. He said the latest proposal is a good one. There will be significant agriculture land use at the site, but it will still be an asset to the city as a business park. “It’s going to be good for the city, absolutely,” said Robson. “People hate to commute to work. To eat, work and play in your own neighbourhood is how you become a sustainable community. “I’m not sure what the Agricultural Land Commission is going to say to the largest farmer in B.C.,” he added. “If anyone is going to make gains there, it will probably be the Aquilini family.”

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The Maple Ridge Pitt Meadows News

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B18 Friday, November 16, 2018

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Former mayor Ernie Daykin beside heritage milk building from old farm in Albion flats

Planning resumes for big chunk of land along Lougheed Highway

No member of council felt the need to scrap the designs and go back to the drawing board, then mayor Nicole Read said at the time. “Lots of work from the public went into By Phil Melnychuk those concepts, so it’s good to continue hatever the future for the much-disthose, she added. cussed and debated 133 hectares “It sounded quite unanimous from council along Lougheed Highway and Jim Robson that we wished to see north [west] of 105th Way, it’s going to be awhile before a shovel [Avenue] remain agricultural,” along with turns and any kind of development starts in some agricultural-related business taking the Albion flats. place there, Read added. Because first a plan must be put into place. That concept, however, was not presented in Planning director Christine Carter said that 2011 to the Agricultural Land Commission staff will update Maple Ridge’s new council for comment. Instead, a version that called early in the year about Albion flats. She’ll re- for development on both sides of Jim Robview how the outgoing council saw the flats, son Way was presented. in order to see if that accords with the views The area lies within the Agricultural Land of the new council. Reserve and any development requires the “What we need to do, is go back to the consent of the Agricultural Land Comincoming council and just say, ‘This was the mission before it’s excluded from the land direction from the last council about the reserve for development. sorts of land uses they want us to put in the The commission responded by saying it only Albion flats.’ would allow development on the east side of “We’ll go give them an update and ask them, Jim Robson Way, providing expensive drain‘Are you comfortable with the last direction age work be done to improve soil conditions we got from the previous council?’ ” Carter on the west side of Jim Robson Way. explained. Once staff have an idea of what Maple “We’re all lined up. That’s one of the first Ridge’s new council wants, it will create a things we want to talk to them about.” In 2015, the city decided to renew its efforts rough concept for the area and include that on the Albion flats to create an area plan, but in a land exclusion application to the Agricultural Land Commission. that was stalled while the city dealt with its Once an exclusion is granted by the commiscurrent recreation infrastructure upgrades, now underway, and which called for building sion, the city can begin writing up a formal, another ice sheet at Planet Ice, in the flats, as Albion flats area plan, which would spell out the future recreational, commercial and well as new sports fields and improvements industrial uses. to the Maple Ridge Leisure Centre. Albion flats, which is located within the Ag- Carter’s not sure how long the entire process ricultural Land Reserve, had been the subject will take. of an intensive community planning process But each step can take months, if not years. “But there’s no point in getting those propereight years ago, involving brain-storming sessions, meetings, consultants and reports. ty owners super excited if the commission is not going to support it,” Carter said. That resulted in an Albion flats concept in Approval from Metro Vancouver is also 2010 that envisioned the west side of Jim Robson Way remaining mostly agricultural, needed. while the east side could have been a mix of Carter said Albion flats and the Lougheed commercial, recreation and light industrial. Highway corridor from the downtown to 200th Street, will be the two major projects Maple Ridge’s outgoing council reviewed that concept in 2016 and decided it was still for the planning department in the next few valid. years.

W

The Maple Ridge Pitt Meadows News

www.mapleridgenews.com

Friday, November 16, 2018 B19

$150 million Pitt Meadows CP Rail project marches forward City council prepares to address citizen concerns

think Harris Road is viable, with all the buildings that are so close to that railway.” Two of these aforementioned buildings happen to be the historic Hoffman and Son By Brandon Tucker Machine Shop, commonly referred to as he beginning of 2018 saw an expansive Hoffman Garage by residents, and the Pitt railway project being proposed for the Meadows Museum, will possibly need to be City of Pitt Meadows. pushed back. The project includes the development of a The issues go beyond noise and historic four-lane underpass on Harris Road, twobuildings though, as Dingwall explains. lane overpass at Kennedy Road, and five “Some of the roadways, for instance, around kilometres of additional track at the Pitt Kennedy Road, if we have a nice overpass Meadows CP facility. will have traffic pushed onto them. These The project planning has been in developare older roads that are not built for heavy ment for the better part of a year now and volume and heavy vehicles.” shows no signs of slowing down. The City of Pitt Meadows recently conducted With so many issues being brought up, community engagement regarding the proj- council will likely have to roll out some initiatives to address those concerns to make ect by hosting an open workshop, at which sure the $150 million project receives the they heard the comments and concerns of green light. These initiatives will come with several Pitt Meadows residents. their own unknown price tag which DingThe results of this workshop have been wall believes will push the project over its prepared in a detailed report, according to estimated budget. Mayor Bill Dingwall, and is now waiting to Such an expensive project is expected to be addressed by city council. “We have a number of issues that are causing have a good return on investment for not only the community of Pitt Meadows, but concern for our citizens,” said Dingwall. the rest of the province and country, as well. “The noise from the building of trains and Managing director of the Greater Vancouver the knuckling sound when they clang toGateway Council, Mike Henderson, believes gether is clearly one.” Several other issues have been raised by both that the project is not only national, but international importance. citizens and councillors alike. “These projects are required to allow CanAs former councillor Janis Elkerton commented in January: “I’m still surprised you ada to continue to benefit from exporting

T

The project includes the development of a four-lane underpass on Harris Road, twolane overpass at Kennedy Road, and five kilometres of additional track. products through the Port of Vancouver,” he explained. “This is Canada’s largest port, one of the largest ports in North America. About 25 per cent of every export dollar Canada earns goes through this port.” The City of Pitt Meadows is more focused on the benefits for their community, of which Dingwall said there are many. “It’ll help with everything from cars sitting and waiting for trains to smog pollution in our community,” he said. “In addition, our first responders will be able to move freely on Harris Road.” Funding for this project is one of the biggest concerns of Pitt Meadows city council. “The City of Pitt Meadows just doesn’t have the capacity to contribute to something that has a $150 million price tag to it,” Dingwall said. Instead, the city is looking to organizations such as the National Trade Corridors Fund,

which has $2 billion to disperse over 11 years. Even after the issue of funding has been dealt with, the project will still not see completion for quite some time. “Once the funding is in place and the roles and responsibilities are defined, it’ll likely be a two-year project from that point,” said Dingwall. Despite the final product being off in the distance still, Dingwall and the rest of city council are eagerly looking forward to the railway project getting underway. “I think this project will help drive other projects that will assist our community, but also those who are just traveling through Pitt Meadows to other destinations,” Dingwall said. The Pitt Meadows council is expected to have reviewed and addressed the community concerns report by the end of November.

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The Maple Ridge Pitt Meadows News

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Pitt Meadows, Maple Ridge adding, upgrading rec facilities New fields

wiring for the electrical system, and making sure all of it is up to date.” By Colleen Flanagan “We’re not sure exactly what the opening arks and recreation areas are undergoing date will be yet,” said Armstrong. major transformations in both commu“It’ll obviously be up and running for the nities. summer of next year, but it won’t be until In Maple Ridge, the Leisure Centre is curafter Christmas that we will have a more rently closed while renovations are taking precise window of when the grand opening place. will be.” The $9.6 million project began in April is exThe project is currently meeting budgetary pected to be completed in May of next year. expectations, and is not expected to go over. The new facility will feature a “walk in” Two new all-weather sports fields at Thomas beach-style access to the leisure pool, a new Haney secondary are also on the go. lazy river, a bubbling play area for toddlers “The two fields broke ground last month, and a new hot tub. The waterfall feature at and the excavation is currently underway,” the current pool is going to be restored. explained Armstrong. The new lobby will lead customers to the pool deck and there will also be new modern “Right now they are leveling the ground and doing all the pre-work required to put the change rooms. new bed in for the synthetic turf fields.” “In the last month, the Leisure Centre has This project involves the creation of two transitioned from a demolition phase of synthetic turf fields with baseball diamonds the older parts of the building, to a full on attached to each one. In addition, a new field renovation mode,” explained Manager of house with change rooms, washrooms and Community Engagement and Relations, a new concession stand will also be built on Fred Armstrong. site. “Right now, they’re pouring concrete all throughout the facility, putting up new walls “It’ll be very similar to the Karina LeBlanc field which had its grand opening at the in the changing rooms, new walls for the beginning of summer this year and is already new pool tank, and the new mechanical up and running,” said Armstrong. room structures are being put into place.” They are part of a $50 million recreation The renovations go beyond a surface level upgrade that also include a new Albion beautification. “They’re dealing with 35 years worth of Community Centre on 104th Avenue, part

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ing. One is because they are old and tired. They need a refresh. And the second one is the association now between Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows no longer exists in our parks department,” explained Evans. “A lot of the signs out there have Maple Ridge contact information and Maple Ridge phone numbers, that’s no longer applicable,” he continued. A tree replacement program began in the summer in South Bonson. “We did a removal of some trees that weren’t in the right location. We felt it was an inappropriate location for that particular tree that was planted. So we had some removed and we are replacing them with a different style and species of tree,” said Evans who is planning to continue with the program into the new year where they will travel to respective areas in the city, review street trees and park trees and look at what needs to be done and what needs to be replaced. Continued on page B22

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B22 Friday, November 16, 2018

Continued from page B20 The parks department is also doing a Shoreline Park review. They have already had a consultant involved to look at possible changes in that park. “It’s quite complex and parks are quite complex I think,” said Evans, who added that they have some concepts they are throwing around that are not “written in stone.” “We want to make it nicer. We want to make it more appealing. We want it to have features that draw people to it in certain areas. Maybe more seating areas. Areas that contain a feature that would draw people to a certain part of the park, for instance, rather than just trying to do it through the whole park,” he said. “We’d like to do something really well in small areas rather than something not so good in a larger area,” added Evans who thinks it has the potential to be a flagship park because of its beautiful location. ”I think it has a lot of potential and I think we want to try and maximize that potential,” said Evans of the area that follows the Fraser River from Bonson Road all the way to Harris Road. But the biggest project for 2019 will be the parks master plan. ”This will be in consultation with the public, it has to be, to get some direction of where we are going to go for the next maybe ten years, for instance, if we wanted to use that as a time frame,” explained Evans adding that the parks department in Pitt Meadows is really new. They only took over from the City of Maple

The Maple Ridge Pitt Meadows News

Ridge, which was under contract to maintain the sports fields in Pitt Meadows, last October. “We are learning a lot as we move along. I think it’s one of the things that takes time to fully understand what it is you are doing and how you are doing it. So there are challenges there, no question,” said Evans. That’s why the master plan is so important. “In order to build a building you need the foundation. As a parks department we need a foundation and a plan to give us direction to what we are supposed to be doing,” said Evans. He expects the plan to finished by the end of the third quarter, mid fourth quarter in 2019. Furthermore, Onni Group Development has offered 13 acres of green space, including eight acres of parkland and five acres of an enhanced trail network, as part of the development of phases 3 and 4 of the Golden Ears Business Park. The city estimates the value of the contribution to be $16 million and sought public civic input for the eight acres of recreational space that will be located just west of the Pitt Meadows Arenas and athletic fields. The new trail system would run from Fraser Way north along the edge of the existing housing development, across Airport Way and between the existing athletic fields, through a portion of the business park before hitting the new city land areas. The eight-acre park is to be located on the land immediately west of the Pitt Meadows Arena and athletic fields.

Looking again at Golden Ears Business Park New mayor wants to take another look By Jim McGregor

I

n May 2018, Pitt Meadows council gave Onni final approval for Phases 3 and 4 of the Golden Ears Business Park. However, with changes in the mayor’s chair and around the council table, the project is slated to come back for discussion in mid– November. In May, council gave final approval for the next phases of the Golden Ears Business Park, including a multi-million dollar sports field project. The developer will give the city 10.88 acres of land for sports fields, but has attached conditions – including that its industrial buildings be allowed to be built to a height of 15 metres in phases three and four of the park. South Bonson residents urged council to follow the advice of its consultant, and limit heights to 12m. The amenity proposal includes the land, which would allow for enough space to accommodate an eight-lane running track around a CFL-size football field.

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The amenity proposal includes the land, which would allow for enough space to accommodate an eight-lane running track around a CFL-size football field. There would also be a soccer field, viewing areas, 115 parking spaces and landscaped buffers from surrounding properties. The agreement would also allow field users to park in the business park on evenings and weekends. City Chief Administrative Officer Mark Roberts estimated the land that would be given to the city could be worth as much as $16 million. Both he and the city’s consultants on the project, IBI Group, considered it an unprecedented amenity contribution. But it comes with a controversial condition – Continued on page B23

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The Maple Ridge Pitt Meadows News

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North Lougheed ‘an important growth opportunity’ for Pitt Meadows New mayor wants to eliminate indefinite deferral By Neil Corbett The North Lougheed Study Area of Pitt Meadows represents a huge economic opportunity for the city, and city hall’s plans for the site will be dusted off by the new council. It is a 51-hectare site, or 125 acres, in the northeast corner of the junction of Lougheed Highway and Harris Road. It is the largest green-grass development site in the city. Whatever goes there, it represents the potential for more employment, an increased tax base for the city, and a boon to the local economy. Development of the site was contentious, with 33 hectares of it being protected farmland. Council received a petition with the names of 600 citizens opposing the development, and it became a political football. SmartCentres wanted to develop 43 acres for shopping and another 19 for a business park. There were plans for big-box stores and a hotel. SmartCentres estimated the potential economic impact could be huge, if the entire area were a commercial development. “It has the potential to create 600,000 square feet of new retail commercial space and two million square feet of mixed employment uses,” said Dave Major of SmartCentres.

“This, in turn, could generate up to 1,200 new retail jobs and, more importantly, for a growing community like Pitt Meadows, over 9,000 new office and industrial jobs.” Despite the economic potential, the last council voted to defer the project indefinitely. Newly elected Mayor Bill Dingwall will put it back on the agenda. “My intent would be to deal with that deferral – I don’t think there should be an indefinite deferral,” he added. “It’s in our OCP [Official Community Plan]. I think it is an important growth opportunity for us, but we’ve just got to get it right,” he said, “in terms of zoning use and the B-Line.” The B-Line bus will take passengers on an express route from Maple Ridge to Coquitlam Central Station where they can access Skytrain. The development is reliant on building the North Lougheed Connector, a 3.6-km section or road running from Harris to Golden Ears Way. SmartCentres had written council, saying it would be willing to pay for the road in 2013. The interchange on the Lougheed Highway will need to be upgraded by the Ministry of Transportation, and there could be an opportunity to tie in access to the North Lougheed Connector to the intersection.

Friday, November 16, 2018 B23

Continued from page B22

ically the last two phases, will be on the upcoming council agenda. the 15m building heights. Count. Bob Meachen, who helped organize “We anticipate that council will give us direction to meet with Onni and open the diopposition to the remaining business park alogue with regards to the last two phases.” phases, said the city has ignored its own consultants in not having 20m buffers and Dingwall plans to attend a meeting with 12m height limits. Roberts to see if Onni would consider “What we’re looking at is a copy of phases changing plans for the remaining phases, one and two,” he said of the proposal. which the outgoing council approved. Meachen, a former soccer association pres- “This would be a chance to possibly look at ident, would like to see more artificial turf other options, and, with agreement, come fields in the city, “but not at the expense of up with something different. I’m still optithe residents’ quality of life.” mistic that can happen.” The opponents of the project felt that the He would suggest some mixed-use, includcharacter of the community will suffer for ing commercial, multi-unit residential and the addition of a sports field and other senior strata buildings. amenities. The city would benefit from an enlarged tax If the meeting is successful, then the project could come back to staff and council and base and more employment in the comsee what the project would look like. munity, but there are strong voices in the community and with a revamped Council, Roberts points out that even if council and there may be new considerations. the developer agree on a new proposal, New Mayor Bill Dingwall sees both sides there is still a large Metro Vancouver comof the coin. Non-residential taxes are one ponent to be considered. of many considerations, no question about “There is a Regional Strategy that Metro it, but at what cost to our community, and Vancouver employs that is approved by the community livability, he said. Mayor’s Council of Metro Vancouver and “And does it jibe with what our citizens have what we decide may or may not fit in with been saying for three years.” what they will permit.” He said council has seen a petition with Roberts is optimistic that if the two parties 1,600 names opposing the project, another survey of 400 people against it, and hosted a are willing to talk, anything can happen. public hearing with 600-plus in attendance Dingwall is also optimistic. “In the end, we are looking to see the best who were “overwhelmingly opposed to use of the land, and to meet the wishes of phases three and four.” Roberts indicated that the project, specifthe community.” O D LU M B R OW N .CO M

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