Hundreds of people turned out Thursday evening for open houses on three Brookswood neighbourhood plans, as well as the future of the Horne Pit site, as council gets closer to decisions on both subjects.
The 4-8 p.m. open house and info session at Brookswood Baptist Church allowed residents to consider the Fernridge, Rinn, and Booth neighbourhood plans, three of the four neighbourhood plans intended to define the growth of housing, parks, and amenities in south Brookswood.
It also offered information about a conceptual plan for Horne Pit, a Township-owned site that was once a gravel pit. The Township is considering developing the northern part of the site, leaving a large wetland area in the south as a natural reserve.
The open house was packed, with people viewing street plans, housing density maps, and information about the first draft of a plan for Horne Pit, which could include townhouses, single family homes, affordable housing, and a new firehall on 200th Street.
Some of the visitors live in the existing developed Brookswood neighbourhoods, which won’t see changes in their land use plans.
“It’s higher density than expected,” said Richard Vanderhaven, but he noted that higher densities are necessary to make it affordable.
Asked about density, Tom Macdonald wasn’t necessarily opposed or in favour or more.
“It depends on what the end result is going to be,” he said.
He also wanted to see infrastructure like roads, schools, and parks developed or set aside before the bulk of housing is built.
“In Calgary and Edmonton, all the infrastructure is put in ahead of time,” he said.
Some people had specific concerns, like homeowners Murray and Lorraine Scott, who thought a map showing 202nd Street being extended to the south was a bad idea, as it would cross a branch of the Little Campbell River.
Concerns over impacts on streams and the water table has been a theme of debates over Brookswood’s future over the past decade, during the two attempts to create a new Official Community Plan for the area.
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Horne Pit covers 70.5 acres, and is in the 27000 block of 200th Street, stretching west to the border with Surrey at 196th Street.
For comparison, Langley’s largest park, Campbell Valley Regional Park, covers more than 1,350 acres.
Local environmental groups have already been lobbying to keep all of Horne Pit as parkland, with the remaining largely-bare areas in the north restored to forest.
Director of engineering Roeland Zwaag was fielding questions about the pit, and said there had also been a number of questions about using the land as a site for a new school for the growing population.
“Everything is on the table, nothing has been decided,” he said of the site.
Most members of Langley Township council were also at the open house, including Mayor Eric Woodward.
On Monday, May 29, a public hearing will be held at the Township Civic Facility on the three neighbourhood plans as presented, as well as a public input opportunity on Horne Pit.
After the public hearing, council will debate, and could amend, any of the three neighbourhood plans.
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