A controversial industrial development near the Surrey-Langley border will go ahead. Metro Vancouver directors sent it back to the drawing board last month.
The proposed development would change the zoning for about 2.45 square kilometres of land, adding to the existing Campbell Heights industrial area.
However, it has has met with opposition from the Semiahmoo First Nation, which says it was not consulted on the project, and conservationists who fear it could damage the Little Campbell River watershed.
On Friday, the Metro Vancouver board voted 69-65 to adjust the regional district’s urban containment boundary to accommodate the project.
Last month, a slim majority of directors voted to send the project back to Metro Vancouver and City of Surrey staff to address environmental concerns and what Chief Harley Chappell said was a failure to consult with the Semiahmoo First Nation.
In an updated report presented to the board Friday, staff said the city was working with Madrone Environmental to update its existing environmental study, and would be conducting further review of streams and wetlands and developing a detailed species at risk survey and wildlife habitat process guidelines.
It also detailed 10 meetings with the First Nation over the last three months. Meeting about traditional ecological knowledge and evaluating ecosystem services will continue.
But in its own presentation to the board, the First Nation said nothing had changed about its original concerns.
It maintains it was only alerted to the project, which has been in development for years, in July and that the recent meetings were of a technical nature, dealing with minor components of a planning process already underway, not substantive consultation.
Chappell was not available for an interview Saturday. However, in a statement earlier this week, he said the City of Surrey was proceeding “unilaterally” and that both the city and the regional district had failed their duty to consult under the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
“We have deep concerns regarding the Little Campbell River, which we call Tat-a-lu. It is a sacred river that has played a central role in sustaining our lives through its bounty since time immemorial,” Chappell said.
“The development could impact our food security, water quality and other environmental impacts which have not been sufficiently addressed to date.”
The Surrey Board of Trade hailed the decision to move the project forward, saying it will help relieve a critical shortage of industrial land in the Lower Mainland.
Board president and CEO Anita Huberman estimates the project will bring in 130 businesses and up to 20,000 jobs.
“This is not only about Surrey, this is about regional economic development,” she said. “To attract businesses, to increase the tax revenue, to be able to invest in social infrastructure and also economic infrastructure as well.”
With Metro Vancouver approval, the project now moves into Stage 2, which the City of Surrey says will include more stakeholder consultation, development of a transportation strategy and detailed design policies and guidelines.