Southlands in Transition

1. What is the essence of the proposal?

The proposal is a mixed-use project for the 530+ acre area of land owned by Century Group, with approximately thirty percent developed into residential (approximately 1,800 to 2,000 homes); approximately 40% retained and enhanced as productive agricultural land, incorporated into the overall site planning: and approximately 30% parks and other civic amenities.

2. Isn’t the Southlands in the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR)?

No. The majority of the land was placed in the ALR when the ALR was first instituted in 1973. From almost that time forward Delta Council worked to reverse the land’s inclusion in the ALR and in 1979 passed a motion to request that the land be excluded from the ALR. Finally, in 1981, the Spetifore Lands (as they were then known) and other adjacent lands in Delta were excluded from the ALR by an Order-in-Council of the Provincial Government.

Order in Council

3. Isn’t developing Southlands in direct conflict with the Official Community Plan (OCP) for Tsawwassen, which clearly states that it is to be zoned farmland?

Yes. The original Delta OCP created in 1986 first designated the Southlands as “urban”. The Tsawwassen Area Plan (TAP) section of the OCP was created in 1992 and the designation was changed to ‘agricultural”. The designation will change again but only in response to change that makes sense for the community. Since the TAP amended the original OCP, there have been scores of amendments to the plan, the most recent major amendment being the Tsawwassen Golf Course proposal for 440+ homes and its attendant ALR exclusion.
The Southlands will change either within the constraints of its agricultural zoning (or its TAP designation) but not necessarily to the benefit of the community. It is incumbent on Century Group, as the landowner (and taxpayer, being charged residential tax rates on a majority of the land) to work with the community to come up with an acceptable framework land-use change and a change to the TAP/OCP that will also be acceptable.

4. The Tsawwassen Area Plan (TAP) puts all “densification” at the centre of Tsawwassen. The draft plans for Southlands would mean densifying at the fringe of the community and detracting from the benefits of the plan, wouldn't it?

Yes and no. Yes, the TAP does sensibly call for more density in the town centre but for various reasons this density has not fully materialized. Denser urban settlement patterns are always better than less dense patterns. Yes, we are proposing a new neighbourhood using principles of density (compactness) to promote walkability. No, the neighbourhood will actually connect the existing neighbourhoods of upper Tsawwassen and Boundary Bay in the centre of the community not at its fringe. The benefits include new connections, new housing (for those not interested in living in the even more dense town centre) and the ability to access other amenities on site which we are just beginning to explore but will include a farmers’ market, arts centre and other important institutions such as Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s Centre of Urban Agricutlure.

5. The idea of a whole neighbourhood that limits cars to one per household, will never sell in Tsawwassen. Most families in Tsawwassen have two cars, many have three. Who is going to give all that up?

To clarify, the aim is to limit the parking to one private car per unit of housing on average. There is an allowance for additional parking for visitors, and people coming to the Market Square, etc. But it is true that the overal parking will greatly restrict and be dramatically lower than any conventional urban pattern.
Yes, it’s true, this neighbourhood will not attract home buyers who insist on wanting three cars. They will not find this a good neighbourhood to reside in. The overwhelming majority of Tsawwassen is built on a pattern of land-use that allows unfettered automobile ownership (often a two car garage, two car driveway plus street parking).
Since this low-density land-use pattern (4 – 5 units/acre) is readily available in Tsawwassen, we don’t want to recreate anything close to it. Instead of this low density pattern which inhibits transit use (because there are insufficient homes within walking distance of any bus stop to make frequent service cost-effective) we will create something far more transit-friendly. While automobiles are important for many people for mobility, the attendant consumption of land used to support multi-car families is what we are trying to change. Ultimately we believe this neighbourhood will achieve a competitive advantage in attracting people to a neighbourhood scale in which the automobile does not dominate the land-use and streetscape. In fact this human-scaled approach we believe will attract many people looking for an alternative to the neighbourhoods existing in Tsawwassen and all of South Delta currently and will offer a choice they currently don’t have.

6. There was a referendum on developing the farm in 1989, and 98% of the people voted to stop any residential development. What part of “no” does Century Group not understand?

The referendum in 1989 was indeed an overwhelming voice against the development of the property at the time, based on the plan presented at the time, by a different landowner with a different development philosphy. The referendum was specific to the Tsawwassen Development Lands (TDL) proposal of 1989 which saw nearly the entire landscape consumed by 1,895 homes. While there is no intent to understate the opposition that existed to the TDL proposal, the current land use concepts are entirely different, especially in the preservation and enhancement of over two-thirds of the site for community use, including a community agricultural component of over 220 acres.

7. Tsawwassen’s only real problem is traffic – the congestion on 56th Street and at the Tunnel. Unless a development proposal contains within it the solution to the traffic problem, it doesn’t meet the test of public approval. What are the plans to deal with traffic?

Traffic and this development’s impact on traffic is an important issue. The issue of land-use patterns as discussed above, is part of the answer. Again, the land-use pattern and overall design of the neighbourhood is favoured towards those less inclined to be concerned about car ownership and use. It is geared toward providing alternatives to the automobile. Daily needs and recreation are within walking distance to a majority of the community, as well as enhancing these opportunities for neighbouring residential areas.
There are also a number of other mitigating features we plan to incorporate in the development including car-sharing which means that people have access to automobiles when needed. By providing safe, reliable access to automobiles when needed it means that people are not committed to necessarily buying a car as their only mode of transportation. Since a car-sharing model means people pay for the use of the shared automobiles (and only when they use them) there is an incentive to use alternate modes of transportation, such as walking, biking or transit.
Measurements of traffic estimate that currently 49% (let’s say half) of the traffic generated in South Delta is traffic with destinations beyond South Delta (probably most of that going through the tunnel). The other half is local traffic.
Traffic will undoubtedly increase but not nearly at the rate to which current residents of Tsawwassen utilize their automobiles. The specific traffic impacts of the development will be quantified once we determine the final plans, total unit count and density in and around a major transit stop to hopefully support significant transit service upgrades for the entire community.

8. I’m not prepared to support or oppose the Southlands until I see what kind of housing Century Group is talking about, and what it is going to cost. When will that be available?

There are a number of general concepts for housing that have been developed during the charrette. Generally the housing is from approximately 14 units/acre in a cottage or townhome style of development block up to approximately 52 units per acre for some acre blocks with apartment style condominium buildings.
The attached site plan of the lowest density (14 units per acre block) shows an example of innovative cottage style housing developed by the architect Lew Oliver, who adapted it to the Scandinavian architecture we want to emulate in the neighbourhood (have links here).
While these would likely be some of the more deluxe (and expensive) units they are genrally much more modest and affordable that the housing generally on the market in South Delta
At this stage we are not able to give very specific information as to cost but our aim is to bring in at least 25% of the units (the higher density ones) as ‘more affordable’ being somewhere under $375,000, substantially lower than the average cost of a single family home in South Delta which is over $600,000.

Sample Housing Elevation Sample Houing type Arial

Sample Housing Floor Plan

9. If and when Southlands receives Delta’s approval, what would be the timetable for development? How long would it be before the first homes go on sale? When would the Village Centre be developed?

The timeline is not set in stone but we hope to start an approval process early in 2009. If we gain some initial approval it may take as long as two years to receive any approval in principle.
If and when approval is finally granted, the Market Square (or Neighbourhood Centre) would be a focus of the first phase of the development, including a grouping of market housing surrounding it. It would be important to enable the very neighbourhood services vital to the mitigation of traffic (as well as the enjoyment of the residents) as soon as possible.
In any application only a certain portion or phase of the project would be subject to an application.

10. A large amount of fill will be required to develop infrastructure on the site; where will it come from, and what impact will the hauling of it have on Tsawwassen’s traffic?

Whereas earlier development schemes assumed essentially the entire site would be ‘filled’, the development concept of the Southlands would require only a fraction of the developed area to be filled, mostly roadways. Generally the homes would be partly lifted to allow parking underneath and raising the habitable are above any flood plain elevation. As the project moves forward we will quantify fill requirements but, again, it will be a relatively small amount of fill to lift approximately 25 acres of roadway and pathway area.
As to where the fill will come from, we are looking at getting gravel from Point Roberts, WA, as we have used for projects before.

11. What if I want to support the project?
At this stage, we ask that you communicate your support to us, either through the blog on this website or through letters to the local newspapers, etc.

12. What if I want to oppose the project?

Firstly, make sure you have the facts about the pros and the cons of the project. Once an application is made there will be public information meetings and then a formal public hearing at which your opposition can be voiced. And much like what we suggested if yuou support the project, you can write letters to the local paper.
We (that’s the developer and the citizen advisory group, the Southlands Community Planning Team) encourage you to work with us to come up with a land use plan that benefits everyone.