The Agricultural Land Commission has turned down a proposal from a developer hoping to create a 224-acre industrial park in Bradner just north of Highway 1.
The project’s proponent, Ron Emerson of the Emerson Real Estate Group, had said his plan would create $4.7 billion in industrial activity and create around 5,000 jobs. But local residents expressed concern about removing land from the Agricultural Land Reserve.
In 2013, the City of Abbotsford forwarded the proposal to the ALC, with opposition from Couns. Patricia Ross and Henry Braun – now the city’s mayor.
In their decision, the three-member Agricultural Land Commission panel said large-scale proposals to exclude land in Abbotsford for industrial development should come from the local government.
Watch Wednesday’s Abbotsford News for more on the decision and the reaction.