Building an urban farm along the right-of-way beneath the BC Hydro lines in South Langley City is a bad idea, a delegation of residents told city council.
About 40 people filled the gallery at the Oct. 2 council meeting as spokesperson Ryan Hughes made the case against the Langley Urban Agriculture Demonstration Project that the city, Metro Vancouver regional authority and Kwantlen Polytechnic University are looking at.
If the project proceeds, it would redevelop the 23-acre (9.4 ha) BC Hydro transmission right-of-way between 200 Street and 204 Street, next to the Uplands Off-Leash Dog Park.
Hughes said it is an area of large lots that already have what amounts to urban gardens.
It would make more sense to make urban gardens more accessible to residents in high-density neighbourhoods like Douglas Crescent and the Fraser Highway, he said.
The right-of-way area is already heavily used by pedestrians runners, cyclists and dog owners, Hughes added.
“This is the wrong location,” he said.
“We’re going to have problems.”
Hughes predicted the ”destruction of green space” could lead to a rat infestation, and could also attract “homeless and drug users” to the area.
He said it might pose public safety problems created by increased vehicle traffic and demands for more parking spaces.
“Please stop now, before more taxpayer money is spent,” Hughes said.
READ MORE: A farm beneath BC Hydro power lines in Langley?
The visit by the delegation came after the City of Langley and Kwantlen Polytechnic University presented three design options for the project at the second community open house held on Sept. 19 at Alice Brown Elementary School.
Hughes said residents were concerned that the options did not appear to include no urban farm.
Mayor Ted Schaffer complimented Hughes on the presentation and went on to take issue with social media comments that suggested the project was a “done deal.”
“The council that sits here has not made a decision,” Schaffer said.
The input from the public meetings on the proposal and the presentation that evening will go to staff for a review before a decision is made, Schaffer said.
When the project was first announced, Roy Beddow, deputy director of Development Services and Economic Development at the City of Langley, said the aim was to bring compatible urban farming to a power line corridor in an established single family residential neighbourhood.
“In addition to demonstrating the potential for local food production, the project will also create community partnerships and educational opportunities while enhancing amenity values in a utility corridor,” Beddow said.
A city report said about 80 people attended the first open house for the Langley Urban Agriculture Demonstration Project when it was held in Langley on May 10, where 54 written responses were collected.
Concerns listed included increased traffic and its impact on access to the site and the possibility that activity on the site could disrupt rather than enhance the neighbourhood.
At the meeting, the Mayor was presented with a petition with close to two hundred signatures opposing the location at the end of the meeting and that there is currently an online active petition at www.change.org/p/halls-telus-net-opposition-to-langley-urban-garden.
A project update notes that the project team has received funding to complete the planning phase and produce a site plan for urban agriculture in this BC Hydro Right-of-Way.
“No additional funding has been secured, and future site development will be conditional on City Council approval and receipt of additional funding,” the update states.
dan.ferguson@langleytimes.com
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