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29-home development eyed for four-hectare site in South Surrey

Public hearing for north Grandview Heights-area application set for Jan. 17
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Surrey city hall. (File photo)

A proposal to add 29 single-family homes and two “open space lots” to South Surrey’s north Grandview Heights neighbourhood is set for public hearing on Jan. 17.

According to a planning report, the applicant has asked for an amendment to the neighbourhood concept plan (NCP) and changes to the road network to facilitate the “April Creek ‘South’” development, eyed for the 2900-block of 164 Street.

City staff have recommended that the four-hectare site – which is currently vacant, with lands to its north the subject of two development applications that are currently at the review stage – be rezoned to Quarter Acre Residential from One-Acre Residential, and that council authorize drafting of a development permit for sensitive ecosystems and hazard lands, for which requirements have been met, the report notes.

The subject application is dependent on development to the north for road access and servicing, the report continues. That means those other applications must proceed before the subject application is finalized.

Of three watercourses within the “heavily vegetated” property, one runs north-south and is located approximately in the middle of it, while the other two are within its eastern portion. The first two are proposed to be retained and protected, while authorization has been received to infill the third and reconstruct it within the area associated with the second.

Road-network revisions propose to run 165 Street through the centre of the site, to align with the existing section of 165 Street to the south. As well, a road dedication is proposed for the eastern portion of the north property line, for future extension of McNair Drive. That roadway, too, is dependent on the developments to the north, the report states. Without it, “the majority of the proposed lots on the subject site are inaccessible.”

The report notes that only one tree on the property, an English oak, can be retained, according to an arborist’s assessment. All 117 alders on the site would have to be removed, along with 64 of 65 coniferous trees. As only 89 of 245 replacement trees could be accommodated, cash in lieu – $62,400 – of 156 trees would be required.

Approximately 1.6 acres of land would be conveyed to the city for conservation purposes.

According to information outlined at aplinmartin.com/aprilcreeksouth, the size of the proposed homes will be up to a maximum of nine metres (three storeys)

The North Grandview Heights Neighbourhood Concept Plan, based on a one-acre and half-acre subdivision model, was approved by council in January 1999, and included approximately 845 acres of land on the northern slope of Grandview Heights. It has been amended over the years since in response to increasing demand for different housing types in the area and the introduction of smaller suburban lots.

The Jan. 17 public hearing schedule gets underway at 7 p.m. The application is among two South Surrey proposals on the list for the evening.

READ MORE: Grandview ‘different from other areas’

READ MORE: Public hearing Jan. 17 for proposed South Surrey townhouses

For more information, email clerks@surrey.ca



tholmes@peacearchnews.com
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Tracy Holmes

About the Author: Tracy Holmes

Tracy Holmes has been a reporter with Peace Arch News since 1997.
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