A proposal to revitalize Ladner Village is being met with resistance from some residents who say the City of Delta wants buildings that are too tall for the area.
Delta has been working on a plan to “reactivate” the waterfront for several years, and according to Coun. Dylan Kruger, it has the support of 65 per cent of residents, along with the Delta Chamber of Commerce and Ladner Business Association.
“As you see the waterfront today, most of it is inaccessible. It’s fenced off, there’s older buildings and debris that are actually (preventing) the ability of residents to access the water,” he told Global News.
“This plan is really about finally restoring access to the water, bringing connection by expanding our open space, expanding our park space, new waterfront trails that can be incorporated into the dike system, and more businesses as well, bringing people down here with more coffee shops and restaurants.”
Most of what Kruger is pitching is uncontroversial. He was vice-chair of the Ladner Village Renewal Committee.
But there’s one element of the plan that a group of residents oppose: the allowance of several six-storey buildings in the Ladner Village.
Brian Webb with Ladner Village Concerned Citizens said he supports revitalizing and densifying the village. He likes parts of the plan aimed at heritage preservation and improving waterfront access.
However, Webb’s group has collected 600 signatures on a petition opposing the proposal, which they plan to present to Delta council on Tuesday.
“It’s simply saying six storeys, we think is too high. Four is acceptable,” Webb said.
“We’ve seen developments that are way too high in places like White Rock, but if you go to the village of Steveston I think the max in some of the areas there is four and it looks great. It’s a vibrant waterfront, it’s still a historical nature, and it’s still got that really cool village feel to it.”
Webb argued that six-storey buildings would be out of scale and character with the village, and would cast significant shadows.
He said the group is also worried about the strain on public infrastructure in adding so many new residents to the village.
Kruger understands residents’ concerns, but says independent experts told the city the plan wouldn’t be economically viable without some six-storey developments.
“In fact, the vast majority of Ladner Village would stay in that three- to four-storey range, but there were some parcels that were identified for up to six because that was what was determined to be necessary in order to achieve revitalization.
“We can have a great plan on paper, but unless somebody actually comes in to build it, nothing actually happens. Developers aren’t going to come in and lose money on a piece of land.”
Kruger said the key issue is ground stability. Developers can’t build underground parking.
That means up to two storeys of a project will need to be dedicated to parking, leaving just two storeys of a four-storey project available to sell or rent.
“It’s about the plan we’ve put in place, which is a compromise (versus) continuing to have stagnation and decline in this area,” he said. “There’s always compromise with change.”
The revitalization plan, if approved, could take up to 20 years to complete.
Delta council will meet Tuesday to debate changing the city’s official community plan to allow up to six-storey residential and commercial buildings in the historic village.