Abbotsford council gave the thumbs up to a controversial Sandy Hill-area subdivision, while calling on parents of a nearby school to stop clogging the narrow cul-de-sac where the development will be built.
Despite the vocal opposition of residents of Christina Place, council voted narrowly to allow a Sandy Hill property to be subdivided into five lots.
Residents of Christina Place had voiced concern about the density of the development, parking in the area, and the effect on Cedar Springs Trail, which is adjacent to the lot in question. Residents also raised safety concerns about the dramatic surge in traffic at pick-up and drop-off times at nearby Abbotsford Christian Elementary School – which has a short path connecting it to Christina Place. Resident Ruth Jackson had told council the road is being used as an alternate drop-off and pick-up location, with cars waiting – some in the middle of the road – for children and sometimes performing dangerous manoeuvres.
“I thought something’s going to happen here because they come out, peer past the cars, then bolt,” Ruth Jackson told council. The situation has also left garbage trucks stuck in the traffic chaos.
With AbbotsfordFirst members having recused themselves because the developer is the brother of the president of the slate, it fell to the five remaining council members to decide the development’s future.
Mayor Henry Braun and Couns. Patricia Ross and Dave Loewen voted to move forward with the application. Braun and Loewen noted the proposal conformed to guidelines laid out by the city’s Official Community Plan and development permit rules and said council should avoid changing the goalposts for builders.
“In principal, I don’t know how I can oppose this,” Braun said. He noted the size of the lots was similar to others in the city, and expressed confidence that the removal of trees from the lot won’t damage the nearby trail.
“The development isn’t going to encroach on those trails,” he said.
Loewen added: “We’ve adopted a community plan, and this is consistent to it … We have to be careful not to make arbitrary decisions.”
Ross said she wished the development was less dense, but said she saw no single reason to oppose the subdivision, which was recommended to proceed by staff. But she did chastise the parents who use Christina Place as an alternate pick-up and drop-off location, and particularly those who stop in the middle of the road.
“I found that absolutely shocking [and] inappropriate,” she said. “However, to me, I think that’s a separate issue that absolutely must be addressed immediately, but I’m not sure that’s a reason to oppose this particular development.”
Ross, Loewen and Braun all asked staff to contact the school to ask them to tell parents to stop using the road. Ross also said the city should immediately address the issue.
“I think we need to deal with this and we need to deal with this right way,” she said.
Couns. Moe Gill and Les Barkman voted against the application.
Gill said five homes on the lot in question were too many, and that he would have been open to the development were fewer houses slated to be built.
Barkman, meanwhile, said the traffic concerns on the cul-de-sac could present problems not only for residents, but for emergency crews. He also expressed concern about the safety of the children using the road.
The public hearing was initially set for late May, but had to be delayed after the recusals by AbbotsfordFirst councillors, combined with a last-minute absence by Barkman, left council without a quorum of five members.
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