Tsawwassen Area Plan Survey Arrives in Mailbox

Surveys about the Tsawwassen Area Plan began showing up in mailboxes yesterday. The survey was contracted by the City of Delta to the Ipsos Reid company to ask residents a few questions regarding the make up of the town center and to gauge sentiment on development of the agricultural land known as the 'Southlands'. The survey comes on the heals of a recent controversy surrounding an online survey that had people up in arms about a technical glitch that was changing answers regarding uses for the Southlands. Participants found that when they answered in favour of conserving the property their answers were altered to be in favour of allowing development of the land. It would seem the city's decision to hire an independent firm is to dispel a growing sentiment that the process is tainted by local politics.

The survey consisted of many questions but the one that has polarized town residents the most is the two part question regarding the fate of the Southlands:

1. Southlands The Southlands comprise 217 hectares (535 acres) of privately-owned lands, located between 56th Street and the Boundary Bay neighbourhood. These lands are designated as 'agricultural' in the Tsawwassen Are Plan and any land use change would require the approval of Metro Vancouver. Existing policies and regulations state that the land can only be used for agricultural.

Option A: No change - keep agricultural as the only permitted use of the Southlands. Proceed to question 2.

Option B: Some change - allow a limited amount of residential and commercial development on the Southlands (to be determined through a public hearing process), in exchange for transfer of a percentage of the lands to the Corporation of Delta, to be protected for agricultural and conservation purposes.

If you selected Option B (allowing a limited amount of residential and commercial development), what minimum percentage of the Southlands should be transferred to the Corporation of Delta ownership to be protected for agricultural and conservation purposes?

◘	◘	◘	◘	◘
Less than 50% |	50% to 60% |	61% to 70% |	71% to 80% |	No Opinion

The choice for preserving the Southlands intact is very black and white. You want the entire property to remain zoned agricultural. The choice for development requires quite a bit more thought with the five options to choose from. The following chart calculates the breakdown of how much land could be developed as residential or commercial and what would be transferred to the city:

Option	Max.Dev. (in Acres)	Min.Dev. (in Acres)	Max.City (in Acres)	Min.City (in Acres)
Less than 50%	535	238	238	0
50% to 60%	237.5	214	321	238
61% to 70%	209	161	375	326
71% to 80%	155	107	428	380

With all the choices for the pro-development side it would seem the easiest choice would be to leave it 'as is'. But this is Tsawwassen and nothing ever comes that easy.