BULLETIN: Agriculture Land Commission Approves Removal of Land Near Airport From ALR
By 250 News
Monday, August 11, 2008 02:56 PM
Drawing of what airport logistics park might look like ( courtesy L&M Engineering)
Prince George, B.C. - The Agriculture Land Commission has approved the removal of 688 hectares of land from the Agricultural Land Reserve.
The area is bounded by the Prince George Airport to the east, Highway 16 to the north, and Highway 97 to the south and west.
The approval opens the door for the continuation of planning for a logistics park. It is envisioned the first phase of the Logistics Park will be designed in the fall/winter of 2008/2009, and the first phase will be constructed during the 2009 construction season.
With the near completion of the runway extension project, it is anticipated that there will be an immediate and significant demand for serviced industrial land for the provision of logistics, warehousing, and distribution uses as early as 2009.
Owner of the largest of the two parcels that were under consideration, Henry Rempel, is happy to hear the news, although he says it has not yet been determined when the first of the buildings will be constructed.
Todd Doherty, with the Prince George Airport Authority, is excited about the opportunities this will bring to Prince George, “We applaud the decision and appreciate the considerable thought and process extended to this application by the Agricultural Land Commission. This now allows Prince George full opportunities for logistics and freight.”
In a joint news release, the City of Prince George, Initiatives Prince George, and Northern Development Initiative Trust applaud the decision.
“This is very good news for Prince George and the northern economy as a whole,” said Mayor Colin Kinsley. “The need for a business and logistics park in close proximity to the Prince George Airport is in the public interest. Once constructed, the logistics park will make Prince George an even more attractive location for investment and job creation.”
The logistics park has strong support among civic, business and community leaders as a key investment to increase revenues for agriculture, food processing and family farms in the region.
“The decision to remove these lands out of the ALR is very important for the future economic growth of Prince George, northern and central British Columbia,” said Tim McEwan, President and CEO of Initiatives Prince George, and Chair of the Air Logistics Park Task Force.
“The logistics park, the Prince George Airport runway expansion, and the inclusion in the Commission’s decision of a Prince George Airport Lands Agricultural Development Fund, to be financed through partial proceeds from the sale of the lands will help create an agricultural processing and exporting hub in Prince George.”
“We are very pleased that communities, agribusiness and the Agricultural Land Commission supported an initiative that will play a major role in diversifying of our regional economy,” said Bruce Sutherland, Chair of the Northern Development Initiative Trust. “The Prince GeorgeAirport expansion and Logistics Park initiative will allow our region to take full advantage of aircargo, trucking and rail intermodal opportunities to grow business and create jobs.”
The logistics park will build on the opportunities provided by the runway expansion at the Prince George Airport.
The new 11,500 foot runway will allow trans-pacific cargo aircraft to refuel in Prince George and take on regional cargo for international distribution. This will provide agricultural producers, food processors and manufacturers with direct access to Asia and eastern North American markets this October.
It took the Agriculture Land Commission longer than expected to reach a decision. At the public meeting held on May 26th, the Commission indicated a decision would be likely within two weeks. Those two weeks have stretched into more than two long months.
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Posted by: elanke on August 11 2008 5:05 PM
This is wonderfull. Its just great to hear that we produce agricultural and manufactured goods to distribute around the world. Yeah right.
What have these people been smoking or sniffing to give us this kinfd of story. Thank heaven that the Mare will be gone come November. We need some new brains for our City.
Cheers