An updated McKee Neighbourhood Plan that includes 65 more acres (23 hectares) of land to be designated as open space received initial approval by Abbotsford council on Monday (April 24).
Council approved first and second reading of the bylaw – repeating a process that was initially done on Jan. 30 – that would see the Official Community Plan amended to include the neighbourhood plan.
The matter is now scheduled to go to the public-hearing stage on June 12, after the previous hearing was nullified due to a clerical error.
Consideration of the third and final reading of the bylaw is slated for June 26.
A staff report presented Monday to council states that the additional open space “could be used for protecting wildlife and species at risk, and could be used to provide greater connectivity within the future trail network.”
The report also indicates that the neighbourhood plan allocates about $75,000 to complete a “McKee Trail Future Study.”
Other updates in the plan include that where land is more than a 40 per cent slope, it is not eligible for development, and that areas of archeological potential have “more clarity in the development process.”
The report also lists 34 instances when staff say the city communicated with local First Nations – Leq’a:mel, Matsqui, Sumas and Sto:lo – about the McKee Neighbourhood Plan, starting in 2017.
The report says the communication included emails, phone calls and meetings.
RELATED: Dozens speak out at 5-hour hearing on McKee Neighbourhood Plan in Abbotsford
It states that staff also applied for and were issued Sto:lo heritage investigation permits for all archeological work conducted.
“This permit process ensured that local First Nations closely reviewed all proposed archeological and cultural heritage work being conducted within their traditional territory,” the staff report says.
“Staff also walked the land and undertook shovel testing together with First Nations representatives as integral members of all archeological field studies.”
The updates in the McKee Neighbourhood Plan arose from dozens of letters sent to the city, as well as comments made from about 50 speakers at a five-hour public hearing on March 6.
Many of the concerns related to the environmental impact of the plan, communication (or lack thereof) with local First Nations communities, and the preservation of the trail network.
Council on March 27 asked staff to review the public feedback and determine if the neighbourhood plan required any updates or changes.
The plan was initially slated to go before council for final approval on that date, but a clerical error had been made during the original first and second reading on Jan. 30.
The error came to light after the public hearing on March 6 and means that the entire process has to be repeated.
RELATED: Agenda error results in nullifying 5-hour public hearing in Abbotsford
The staff report indicates that all correspondence received from the previous public hearing will be part of the package to be considered by council.
The McKee Neighbourhood Plan, if approved, will be used by council in making decisions about a 1,900-acre area (769 hectares) of McKee Peak on Sumas Mountain in terms of allowable uses, building forms and densities.
Mayor Ross Siemens previously explained that the plan will guide future development, and no development applications have yet been made for that area of McKee Peak.
RELATED: Plan sees McKee Peak area as ‘outdoor adventure hub’ in Abbotsford
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