Delta council refuses to
approve large development
When Delta Mayor Lois Jackson
said council had heard enough
and the massive Delsom Estates
development should not proceed,
a cheering crowd gave her a
standing ovation at the North
Delta Recreation Centre Thursday
night.
The entire matter (should) go
back to the drawing board,"
Jackson said.
More than 300 people had packed
the public hearing to discuss
the proposal to build 1,000
housing units on the 100-acre
former gravel pit bordered by
Nordel Way, 82 Avenue and 108
Street.
All but 100 of the units would
be in two- to three-storey
townhouses, plus some
five-storey buildings in a mixed
commercial-residential area.
Speaker after speaker said the
project was far too dense for
the area, with resident Joseph
Elchantiry saying he isn't
anti-development, just anti-
that particular development.
I feel a bit ripped off,"
Elchantiry commented.
I came here to live in a
single-family housing
neighbourhood."
Top: North Delta residents examine an architect's model of the proposed Delsom Estates project, bordered by Nordel Way, 82 Avenue and 108 Street. More than 300 people attended a public hearing Thursday night that saw council reject the design after complaints the townhouse-heavy development was too dense for the area. DAN FERGUSON / THE LEADER
An indignant Narinder Brach was
cheered when she predicted the
townhouses would lower
surrounding property values.
People will live like sardines
in a can," Brach complained.
The proposed shopping centre for
the project attracted a lot of
heat as well, with critics
warning the proposed towers
would overshadow neighbouring
homes and hurt nearby
businesses.
The closest anyone came to
supporting the project was a
letter filed by former Delta
resident Elaine White, who said
the community needs more
affordable housing like the sort
proposed by Delsom.
White said she was forced to
move away from Delta where she
grew up to find housing she
could afford.
Unfortunately my address is in
Surrey," White wrote.
By 10 p.m., 21 people were still
waiting to speak against the
project, the result of a
last-minute scramble when the
mayor mentioned the hearing was
running out of time.
Right after the line-up
expanded, Jackson said there was
no need to hear more submissions
and adjourned the hearing so
council could formally terminate
the review and vote down the
bylaw that gave preliminary
approval to the project.
Next, the mayor said, the city
and the developer will have to
sit down and talk about where we
go from here."
