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Panorama residents rail against application to develop on greenspace

Public hearing set before city council on Nov. 8, for the property at 13190 64 Ave.
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Panorama residents are voicing opposition to a development proposal for greenspace in their neighborhood. (Photo: Tom Zillich)

Some Panorama residents are voicing opposition to the City of Surrey selling off greenspace to accommodate the proposed redevelopment of the Fruiticana and Pizza 64 complex in Newton.

The application is set for a public hearing before city council on Nov. 8, for the property at 13190 64 Ave. to permit development of a single-storey, multi-unit commercial centre.

Panorama resident Morten Bisgaard says there will be a “strong neighborhood turnout” against the proposal.

“It’s greenspace, it’s technically a detention pond,” he said. “It’s greenspace, which is always valuable.”

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“It just seems awkward and weird to me that they’re just going to say okay, it’s not an open process it’s going to be sold off. We would like some accountability, at the very least,” Bisgaard added. “According to the study that they had which was part of this report to council was that there’s going to be no additional traffic increases, which seems absurd to me if you’re building a significantly larger commercial footprint.”

The zoning, he noted includes pubs. “There is a high school right next to it, so that’s another concern.”

But one thing the developer has done, Bisgaard conceded, is offer $30,000 to improve Panorama Heights Park at 62 Avenue and 131A Street, roughly 150 metres down the street.

Jason Mann, a resident of Panorama Park, says his family has lived in the area for more than 50 years and has seen significant change over the years.

He told the Now-Leader the “biggest change (not positive) for our neighbourhood is coming at us as normal residents living in our nice neighbourhood are going to pay the price as coming changes are being done to convert to commercial and sell off parkland and greenspace to generate income for the city but also favour one developer.”



tom.zytaruk@surreynowleader.com

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About the Author: Tom Zytaruk

I write unvarnished opinion columns and unbiased news reports for the Surrey Now-Leader.
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