Developers have had their eye on the Silverdale area for over six decades. Parcels have changed hands, plans have stalled, and community and council members have remained skeptical.
But a master plan is now in place to guide development on 1,800 acres – estimated to double the population of Mission over the next 60 years.
Council voted unanimously to adopt it into the OCP on June 27, following a public hearing.
Mayor Paul Horn said, for him, the passing of the Central Neighbourhood Plan was like “poetry.”
“The whole conversation of the Silverdale Urban Reserve is the same age as me – 1966 is when this conversation started. So make no mistake, this is a milestone,” Horn said.
“I grew up with this plan … I have been converted, I have gone from being a person who couldn’t have imagined raising my hand for this, to a person who will.”
The master plan has been in development since 2020, and will serve as a living document (subject to change) to guide future land use in the area.
Its principals stress maintaining the area’s natural environment, clustering denser developments around commercial centres, creating distinct walkable neighbourhoods with a range of housing types, with a network of pathways and trails throughout.
Thirty-seven per cent of the area (675 acres) will remain in its natural state, and another six per cent will be dedicated as park space (114 acres).
Single-family homes account for the largest land-use designation at 21 per cent (378 acres), followed by townhomes at 15 per cent (269 acres), and apartments at two per cent (30 acres).
Three per cent of the area (54 acres) will be used for public spaces like elementary schools, fire halls, public works yards and community centres.
Three elementary schools, three community parks, two civic centres and over 10,400 homes are envisioned for the area.
A new developer fee bylaw is a key aspect for recovering the estimated $337 million needed infrastructure installments, which will take place over three phases.
More staffing will be needed to handle the number of development applications, as well as planning, engineering, and building department hires to facilitate the process, according to the plan.
It states council should expect staffing to be a sunk cost until tax benefits can be realized from growth.
Horn said, however, that current estimates show tax revenues from the developments, in relation to costs, will have a net benefit of three per cent to municipal coffers.
The public hearing brought out 14 letters of support for the plan, and only two people raised concerns.
Horn and Coun. Danny Plecas both mentioned how far the plan has come since 2008, when both sat as city councillors through a public hearing on Silverdale development, which lasted a total of 144 hours over several days.
In the 14 years since, extensive public consultations have taken place. Most recently, a series of virtual and in-person open house meetings were used to get feedback over design options in the plan.
Polygon Homes became the largest landowners in Silverdale in 2017, when they bought 710 acres off Genstar Development Company, which decided to end its development plans for the area in 2015.
Plecas said when they started the development process with Genstar, the city wasn’t ready, and the plans stalled. He said the work that has gone into the master plan is a step forward for the community.
Back in 2002, Horn said the big concern over Silverdale development was urban sprawl, and now over 43 per cent of Silverdale is earmarked for greenspace.
“How do we maintain this rather extraordinary amount of green space? How do we maintain those sight lines? How do we allow people like myself, not to worry that our wells will go dry as this is built-out? Or that our drainage will be affected?” Horn said. “The answer is 5.8 units per acre. Density. That’s a big lesson that we’ve learned.”
