Tsawwassen Land Use Plan
The recent Tsawwassen First Nation Final Agreement (Treaty) includes a Land Use Plan (Section 4) to develop a significant portion of the land for residential, commercial and industrial uses. The following excerpt is from the TFN Land Use Plan:
Land Use Tsawwassen First Nation LAND USE PLAN
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The Tsawwassen Golf Club is expanding the golf course to the border of the Tsawwassen Lands. This provides an excellent opportunity for TFN to develop a market housing subdivision consisting of multi family housing adjacent to the golf course.
There are also opportunities to develop additional multi family units adjacent to Tsatsu Shores and along the base of the Bluff. A realignment of the road and relocation of Tsatsu Gas will enable a more comprehensive development to be planned and built. The TFN have been successful at developing both multi and single family market housing south of Highway 17.
There are currently around 460 people living at Tsatsu Shores, Stahaken and Tsawwassen Beach Estate Lots. There are currently 16.8 ha of underdeveloped land south of Highway 17 that could be used for multi and single family housing.
For the complete text please refer to Section 4 of the completed Land Use Plan at: http://www.tsawwassenfirstnation.com/index.php
Tsawwassen Golf and Country Club Development
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The Tsawwassen Golf and Country Club development has been approved and is under construction. The build-out period for the 437 units is estimated to be five years. Planned are 243 apartments and 194 bare land strata units in duplex and single family dwelling form.
To the right is the current plan for this development:
Point Roberts Golf and Country Club development
Construction of the first phase of a large residential development in Point Roberts is expected to begin soon.
Comprised of several housing types, including townhomes and detached single-family units, the Residence at Point Roberts Golf and Country Club will consist of 110 homes once all four phases are complete.
Tsawwassen land should remain agricultural
Even in the guise of 'new urbanism" development is not the best use for this fertile patch
Long after George sold it, the 536.7 acre Spetifore farm fronting Tsawwassen's Boundary Bay (now known as "The Southlands") is still one of the largest parcels of prime agricultural land in the Lower Mainland. And it's still making headlines.
If developer Century Holdings has its way, one-third will become housing, one-third will be allocated to "amenities" and one third offered up for "agricultural purposes."
By Wendy Holm, Special to the SunOctober 23, 2009
Southlands Development Proposal: Why not?
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Here’s why not
- The Southlands is FIRST CLASS agricultural land. We need farmland. We do not need more housing on this scale in Tsawwassen. We do not need to trade excellent farmland for 2000 more dwelling units and all that entails, no matter what is offered for the supposed “community benefit” in return.
- Housing choice? There’s plenty already provided in Tsawwassen and coming in the Toigo Tsawwassen Golf Course development – single family, duplexes, town houses, condos, apartments - from bungalow to high rise, it’s already here or already approved.
- The Toigo development at the golf course will already add 1,170 people – and their cars. The Jacobs development next to it will add at least the same – another 1,170 people. The TFN development across Hwy 17 will add much more than that. All these people will be accessing Hwy 17 and the tunnel – along with the ferry traffic and ferry trucks – as Tsawwassen residents sit at the lights at 56th and 52nd, trying to get in and out of Tsawwassen.
- Add yet another 2000 homes – at the provincial average of 2.6 people per unit – you add 5200 people – and their cars: say, 4000 cars. No matter what the developer may suggest to the contrary, they WILL need cars – to drive to work, to get to other destinations in Tsawwassen and outside Tsawwassen.
- Where will those 4,000 cars enter and exit the Southlands? From 56th at 4th Avenue. From Boundary Bay Road across from the entry to Centennial Beach. (In one plan, there are seven exits onto Boundary Bay Road between the entrance to Centennial Beach and 3rd Avenue.) For certain, Boundary Bay Road, 12th Avenue, Beach Grove Road and other streets through Beach Grove will all see an enormous increase in traffic.
- Putting a Market Square and Civic Square on the Southlands would draw yet more traffic from residents throughout Tsawwassen and impact merchants in the town centre. And the 5,200 Southlands residents would still have to go to the town centre for access to doctors, dentists, banks, lawyers, accountants, etc.
- How many trucks – 12,000? 30,000? – will it take to bring in fill for preloading the development sites?
- The development will be phased. Over how many years will there be the noise and dirt of construction and the added truck traffic on 56th?
- The plan includes 4 storey apartments. Add the necessary flood-proofing, and you have a 5 storey building. Add roof design and you have, visually, 6 storey buildings – overlooking the single family dwellings in Boundary Bay, Beach Grove, Forest By The Bay, and along 56th.
- Affordable housing? Even Sean Hodgins agrees – the development would be market priced.
- Who will pay for the necessary upgrades to Tsawwassen’s infrastructure to service a development of this size? YOU the present Tsawwassen taxpayers.
Further information and history can be found at http://www.southlandsinthealr.ca/