Yorkson plan gets mixed reviews
Township council:
Residents and landowners had a variety of concerns about some aspects of the new scheme.
by Matthew Claxton - Langley Advance
A new plan for the Yorkson neighbourhood's development is well intentioned, but may need a few changes here and there, Township council was told Monday.
At a public hearing, more than a dozen people spoke about the plans to adjust the density and housing types in the Yorkson neighbourhood, centred around 208th Street and 80th Avenue.
The area has already seen several major single-family-home and rowhouse developments, but if the new plan is approved, its total population will be about 28,000 people when all the land is developed.
The pace of change has been staggering for some long-time residents, said Alice Johnson.
"Things are changing so quickly in Willoughby that I'm starting to wonder where I was raised," said Johnson, the secretary of the Willoughby Hall society.
A development plan for the land around the hall calls for it to be moved further down 83rd Avenue, Johnson said.
The hall's board voted Monday that there will be no relocation.
"We are not going to move to suit the whims of developers looking for a prime, high-profile location," Johnson said.
The proposed locations of pocket parks and new roads also bothered some landowners.
Rajvinder Bhullar and Kamaljit Grewal own adjacent properties in the region. Both noted that a one-acre pocket park and a greenway trail appear on their land on the new maps of the plan.
Bhullar said his small property will lose most of its development value if the park stays where it is.
"I have a greenway, I have a pocket park, and I have nothing to develop," he said.
Tony Small's similar concern was that his property, where he lives with his wife and three children, is to be bisected by a new road.
"I've been informed that it's pretty much a done project," he said.
He asked the council to make a special exception for his remaining property and give one half of it access off 209A Street.
The Langley Field Naturalists gave a tentative approval to the plan, said member Cathy Masse. The greenways and stream setbacks were good, she said, but added that more should be done to save mature trees - also an issue for Miftah Hollands.
"Far too few mature trees are being retained," Hollands said.
One of the few outright rejections of the plan came from Shannon Braithwaite, who said the development's density, especially its mid-rise buildings of up to 12 storeys in the core area, will destroy Langley's character.
"High-rises will change Langley forever," Braithwaite said.
One issue that arose several times was the fate of the heritage area around the current site of the Willoughby Hall. Along with the hall board's rejection of a move, developers who want to build in the area expressed concerns about the way the Township has structured approvals.
John Cameron spoke on behalf of the McCamley family, which wants to turn its land into a non-profit driven legacy project. The family's vision includes a new facility for the Irish Heritage Society of Canada and a 218-unit seniors facility.
"They'll be holding ceillidhs and all kinds of events for local youth," said Cameron.
However, the proposed Yorkson plan calls for all the owners of heritage buildings in the area to agree on a plan for the heritage region.
That includes the owners of heritage buildings outside the designated heritage zone, and would mean eight to nine owners would have to sign off on plans before anything could happen, said Cameron.
"Something needs to give here in the plan for it to work," said Cameron.
Township council will consider third reading of the bylaw creating the new plan at its regular meeting on May 28, to be held in the Township Civic Facility.
published on 05/18/2007
The Schacter Team - Langley Real Estate
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