A proposed development would build housing on more than 100 acres of the Salmon River Uplands beside 56 Avenue and 240 Street in the Otter area of Langley next to the Tall Timbers golf course.
In a July 2 letter sent to nearby property owners, Infinity Properties of Langley said it has recently come to an agreement to purchase the site.
The company said it is working on a “first draft” of a development plan for the land, which lies between the protected Salmon River in the north and sensitive wetlands in the south.
The letter hints the company will be seeking a re-zoning of the property to allow more than the current “Rural Residential” designation that permits one house for every 2.1 acres.
“The maximum density that has been developed in the Salmon River Upland area in the past is one unit to the acre or what could be 107 units for this property,” said the letter, signed by Infinity Properties president Tim Bontkes.
Bontkes added the actual number of housing units would be less “given the topographical, environmental and access challenges surrounding this site.”
At what the company called an informal public information hearing at the Bethel Mennonite Church on July 15, documents provided by Infinity showed the site was originally part of a larger housing development that was proposed in the 1980s but never completed.
About 300 people attended the hearing, according to the “Leave Salmon River Uplands Alone” Facebook page.
An email sent out following the meeting by Doug McFee of the Salmon River Enhancement Society said the smaller lots should not be allowed “unless the proponent (Infinity) is willing to give something very significant back in return, such as a large park along the Salmon River.”
An email from McFee said that stretch of the river was “one of the most productive areas for coho habitat and spawning.”
