Larger developments in the Steelhead area could have to wait to be approved by council.
At the April 2 meeting, an application was unanimously rejected by council to rezone a property on Thomas Avenue to allow a subdivision that could include secondary dwellings.
Council demonstrated an appetite to wait for an update to the Official Community Plan (OCP) before moving forward with larger developments in Steelhead.
“The idea of anything large-scale out there — I think there was consensus that we need to get community input in a proactive way before that happens,” Mission Mayor Paul Horn said.
Horn said he struggled with the decision.
“On the one hand, I feel it’s very important to honour our OCP – especially when the change is only five years old – and to say to property owners that have a wish to develop that they should be able to rely on that document. By the same token, I’ve lived my whole life with the experience of having an erosion or the threat of an erosion of a rural lifestyle. It’s a challenge,” Horn said.
Coun. Angel Elias said she went back and forth over the decision as well and lost sleep over it. She voiced a need to set out a plan for Steelhead during the OCP update process.
“We just can’t allow a whole bunch of development to take place in the meantime without a solid plan,” Elias said.
Coun. Mark Davies also underscored the importance of a vision for protecting rural areas during the community plan update.
“We’re really at the crux of, do we start to build up rural areas? In which case it becomes very similar to the towns to the west of us,” Davies said.
City staff received 36 comments responding to the development with 23 in opposition and 13 in support, while councillors also received correspondence.
Concerns emerged around environmental impacts, well water, traffic, access to schools, municipal services, density and its appropriateness for the area.
Supportive feedback included an increased availability for affordable rural housing options and the chance for multi-generational living on the same property. Coun. Carol Hamilton said the reasons for concern regarding the aquifer and possible contamination from septic fields outweigh the reasons for support.
“The Steelhead community has been asking for some time to have a total review done in a neighbourhood plan and I think with the refresh of our OCP now, it’s time for us to follow through with that,” Hamilton said.
The 40-acre property was formerly used as a gravel extraction operation, city staff told council. Staff said there have been a number of studies on the property, including arborist and environmental reports, but they are not complete at this point.
Horn also pointed out the importance of the upcoming visioning process for gravel pits in particular.
“We can’t just leave them as gravel pits. A lot of folks raise the issue of environmental impacts. Certainly, gravel pits left unchecked are not a good place for the environment unless there has been some reclamation to turn them into, for example, a swimming pool or a swimming hole or a fish area as they’ve done in Surrey,” Horn said.
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