- Target:
- Citizens of Delta
- Region:
- Canada
- Website:
- southlandsinthealr.ca
The property commonly known as the Southlands has been used for farming since the nineteen-thirties.
This is the only use the property has ever known.
Development proposals for the land in 1971, 1974, 1975, 1981, 1983, 1989 and 1992 have all met with failure.
After the lengthy and exhaustive public hearings of 1989, the entire property was zoned agricultural, designated agricultural in the community plan and placed in the green-zone as part of Metro Vancouver's Livable Region Strategy.
Additionaly, learned and established experts (B.C. Institute of Agriculture, Professors Art Bomke, Jan de Vries, Marshall Cronkite George Cruikshank et al) have determined through many studies that most of the land in question is at least as good as or better than agricultural land in West Delta in general.
Despite all these protections, the Southlands is now slated for a 2,000 unit mixed-density property development that will bring 4,000-5,000 new residents to South Delta.
Due to the constant development pressure that the land has been under since 1971, and due to the fact that the present protections have not been enough to dissuade developers from speculating on the land, ALR designation is needed to preserve this property.
It is fully within the rights of the municipality to petition the Agricultural Land Commission for inclusion.
We, the undersigned, call upon Delta council to make an application to the Agricultural Land Commission for the inclusion in the Agricultural Land Reserve of the property commonly known as the Southlands.
We urge council to make this application to ensure that the objectives of the community plan can be met, namely:
"To preserve the farmlands within the Southlands for agricultural uses, thus reinforcing the Official Community Plan objective of preserving farmland for the food production needs of future generations."
You can further help this campaign by sponsoring it
The Southlands In The ALR petition to Citizens of Delta was written by Dave Staniforth and is in the category Environment at GoPetition.