Development Gets Green Light
Diagram of proposed Blackburn Road area subdivision – image courtesy Prince George City Hall
Prince George, B.C. – Staff at City Hall recommended Council deny the application for an 85 lot development on the east side of Blackburn Road as it reaches the City's south east limit saying its urban sprawl, but Council didn't agree.
The proposal calls for an amendment to the Official Community Plan and rezoning to create 85 one acre lots in a subdivision to be known as "Silverbird Ranch".
The project would require the City to extend water and sewer services 900 metres south on Blackburn Road to the entrance of the property.
(at right rendering of entrance of proposed project)
But Cuncillor Brian Skakun says the project would bring some services to the area "Had it not been Blackburn, I wouldn't be supporting this". He says this part of the city has been in need of attention for some time.
"We are open for business, and this is the right business " says Councilor Dave Wilbur in expressing his support for the project.
Councilor Lyn Hall says this development would have a positive impact on the elementary school in that area "We need the development, we need to reinforce the Blackburn community and this will certainly do that."
The homes will cost between $400 and $500 thousand dollars each.
The existing zoning for the property is Agriculture/Forestry and the proposal is to change that to AR3 to allow for development of numerous lots.
A phased development agreement has been approved that would set development benchmarks that must be reached at certain dates. For example, water and sewer extesion would have to be complete by December 31st, 2017.
The developer says the subdivision will have a positive impact for the City and residents of Blackburn by keeping their community alive, extending the sewer and water lines and providing upscale larger lots.
Looking at the image of the entrance of the property, Councilor Dave Wilbur said he wanted to be sure it would not be a "gated Community" that it would allow inclusion for all area residents". The proponent says the park, which is part of the plan, will be fully accessible to all.
One of the neighbouring property owners presented a map of 65 lots of a subdivision that was developed in the 1950's, and although city services such as water and sewer were promised at the time the area was amalgamated with Prince George, those services have never appeared. She says there is no need to approve a new subdivision which would require a rezoning , when there is already an approved subdivision.
"We've been isolated out there" says one neighbour who supports the project. He wanted assurance that if the project is approved, that there is significant capacity on the water and sewer lines for others to hook up to the system.
Comments
lol, city staff keep on hammering this cities ability to grow, it never changes. Thank god this city council got this one thing right…
The city has been doing such a great job of keeping the population at 65k for 20 years now….
Now you know why this city has stalled in it’s growth, because the people behind the scenes have zero vision to take the city forward.
Where are the people against site c for flooding farmland. I guess they are okay for sprawling subdivisions covering farmland.
Who is paying for the sewer and water? Will it be the same scenario as Hart Highlands ( 30+years later) residents that have to foot the bill ($27000+)?
If the city can guarantee sewer and water in that area(new) – do the subdivisions established first before other pojects and not at owner’s expenses.
Yes Lyn Hall – it is surprising that you didn’t close Blackburn school – you did a good job of closing schools on the Hart – Austin Road had over 350+ students – yet you closed it!
What happens once the residents there start complaining about noise from the airport? Are they going to hold us hostage to moving it?
The developer is paying for the sewer and water development on their property.
“The project would require the City to extend water and sewer services 900 metres south on Blackburn Road to the entrance of the property”
This will be taxpayer cost, any idea on the amount?
The depths of idiocy that this Council can reach appear to show no bounds.
I listened to Ben M.’s interview on CBC yesterday. He made much sense of the need to infill current infill areas as well as an absolute need to consider replacement of current infrastructure before it gets into panic phase.
However, Brian S. also makes a valid case in that there is a need to build that neighborhood so it also can enjoy some local commercial activities – i.e. shopping centre.
But then, whot happened to the water and sewer development that ‘was promised’ at amalgamation???
Perhaps a greater need is a plan for the area – but then, Council is the first one to ignore plans given their recent history of poo-pooing the OCP – have a look back at Haldi.
Absolutely, the developer should PAY ALL COSTS in connecting to the current system. Of course, who will pay in the end – it would be all of those who buy into the 85 properties! Welcome to the real world folks.
This is rediculous. The city cant even handle what they have.(infrastucture, snow etc:)Homes for who? All you ever see is homes built but no new industry. Short term gain. What hss Initiaves PG actually done to increase industry here. Not much as far as I can see. The house builders will be happy I guess.
All this does is guarantee future tax hikes across the city. Thanks very much to our outgoing mayor and the inexperienced councilors who have no concept of managing long term cost drivers.
Who do they think will have to pay for the cost of snow removal, garbage collection and pot hole filling. There won’t be enough revenue coming from these properties alone to pay for all those costs and so the sprawl will impact us all.
For a good example of this simply look at the extra cost that has been added to our taxes to pay for all the equipment that is clearing the snow on the new Boundary Road. How much extra money was needed to send the trucks out to clear that road last winter? $250,000? By the way, if no money was added to the budget that means the service level was reduced. And they wonder why there were so many complaints last winter.
To put it another way, if you owned a store would you expand your outside walls for new shelves when the shelves in the middle of your store are half empty? Moronic.
This council like many in the past, is too short sighted to understand why sprawl doesn’t work. We can’t afford to pay for what we have now because the city is too spread out and this development, that runs in opposition to the City’s Official Community Plan and against every planning principle there is – is guaranteeing a future tax hike our children won’t be able to afford.
Blackburn is a nice but rural area and should stay that way. BTW Who is going to pay $400-$500 thousand for a home in an area that is further from any amenities for children like the pools, arenas, secondary schools, University, medical services, etc. It also has no Transit service nor should it as that too would need to be hugely subsidized. As someone else mentioned with proposed jets taking off from the airport with more frequency it is also setting the stage for future conflicts between the residents and the airport.
Instead of smarter growth that increases density and therefore keeps costs manageable this mayor and council have decided to throw out modern planning principles and return to the very same poorly thought out decisions that got us into this situation in the first place. IMO.
Excellent post psst, I don’t think there’s anything more to add.
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