- - - - - - - Langley Free Press Welcomes Your Comments - - - - - - - - - Name Email URL is optional
Looks like Richter is putting her nose in to Diane Watts jursidiction. Diane will quickly put an end to that endeavour. You can read the headline now...Surrey Mayor squashes Langley mayorilty candidiate Richter before she gets 'officially' started.
Dear Rennie:
I think the "dewatering" that has gone on at Stokes Pit is a cause of great concern to the Township of Langley since this dewatering was achieved by pumping water out of the area. This is directly over the unconfined Brookswood aquifer so my concern is the environmental impact on our Brookswood aquifer not to mention the dramatic clearcutting that will take place right along our border to facilitate Phase 2 of the industrial park expansion. I was invited to attend this tour as were other municipal representatives. Sadly, I was the only Councillor there.
I will be raising this matter at the next Township Council meeting as I think at minimum the Township should be sending a letter of concern to Surrey. Personally, I think we should add our voices to those calling for preservation of the area as a natural park.
I also think we should be watching what is being done with 24th Avenue as well. I don't think it should be pushed through to Langley as I'm pretty sure Brookswood, especially the seniors in the mobile home parks at 24th Avenue and 196th St. won't be too impressed with the industrial park's truck traffic going through 24th Avenue to 200th Street.
To get a good feel of the area ZOOM IN using the attached satelite map ( remember to select SATELITE VIEW on the map), selection to appreciate the dramatic effect on Langley's borde that the industrial park will have;
http://picasaweb.google.ca/lfped...lPark/
photo#map
Er, don't be too concerned about Diane Watts there, Rennie. There was quite a large article in the Vancouver Sun about this Campbell Heights development and what it's done to some of the area. She was very concerned and I don't think for one minute that she would frown on Richter's involvement. After all, it is involving both sides of the Surrey/Langley border. We all know that a problem doesn't just stop at a boundary.
The sad part of this is that no other Councilor's could be bothered to show up. Shame on them.
Of note,
Not only is the Brookswood aquifer heavily affected by this, also of concern is the Little Campbell River and any possible rehabilitation of Horne Pit.
For those of you not familiar with the area, Horne Pit is the Langley portion of the old gravel mining facility in that area. It is located between 27th Avenue and 25th Avenue and between 200th Street and 196th Street and is separated from Stokes Pit by a very narrow tree corridor (more of a visual block as the corridor is less than 50 m wide in spaces) and 196th Street. It was used as a gravel pit in the same era as Stokes Pit and based on what I have read in the past it is slated to be converted, eventually, into a combination community park/protected area. Horne Pit has a decent set of water features in the south, the biggest of which is directly linked to the Little Campbell River although at a slightly higher elevation (the difference in elevations is preserved by beavers who have a series of dams in the area). It is visible on the aerial map to the immediate east of the turkey barns (I think that is a turkey farm but I may be wrong). To get an idea just how close you are to the main stem of the Campbell River, if you are looking at the aerial map the Campbell River is the green space that splits the housing development just south of the Horne Pit.
Any major development on the Surrey side of 192nd will have a major effect on the creation of a natural reserve on the Langley side. If a major industrial facility is built there then the protected area will be badly affected (too much noise for birds and mammals to consider it a refuge).
Any major change in groundwater depth will necessarily have a serious effect on the Little Campbell River. As such, any major change in water flow regime in the area should be cleared through the Federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans since that river is a salmonid stream and I believe should be protected by the Fisheries Act.
Given all the effort Langley has put into the rehabilitation of the Little Campbell River and the plans for Horne Pit, we certainly have every right to make our voices heard on this one. As I note, there may regulatory protection if someone wants to call DFO into the mix.
Regards,
Blair
why does this have to be a political 'hot potato'?
It is a land use issue.....protect the fragile land with green style development planning....pretty simple.
Blair, you have a very good point. It always seems to boil down to land, and the developers' quest for it. I would not be at all surprised if Horne Pit gets the same treatment as Stokes pit over time. Our town planner(mayor?) might get another twinkle in his eye.
Commenting by HaloScan
