Hall of famer
Mike Owen recognized for Fraser River work
3
Final chapter
Bryan’s closing after 35 years in village
6
Lest we forget Ceremony honours those who served
18
Optimist Delta
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Seafair on top again
Isles win Jardine tourney for third time in four years
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SCAN WITH TO REVEAL PHOTOS & VIDEO
PHOTO BY
GORD GOBLE
Supporters of Century Group’s Southlands proposal applauded as Delta council gave it conditional approval last Friday morning at municipal hall. Civic politicians approved the application, which features 950 housing units and turns 80 per cent of the site over to Delta, by a 6-1 margin.
Southlands proposal approved
Century Group application wins over municipal politicians and will now be forwarded to Metro Vancouver BY
SANDOR GYARMATI
sgyarmati@delta-optimist.com
The Southlands development application cleared a historic hurdle last Friday but still faces one more. After officially terminating the public hearing, civic politicians gave conditional approval to the Century Group’s controversial
proposal, many calling the plan a great deal for Delta. Before final approval can be given, the application must go to Metro Vancouver, where regional approval is required to amend the site’s urban containment boundary designation. It remains to be seen if district directors are willing to derail the ambitious plan for
the Tsawwassen site, which is zoned agriculture but not in the Agricultural Land Reserve. Last Friday, Coun. Ian Paton described the proposal as “an unbelievable deal” for the municipality, one that will add some much needed quality farmland to the inventory once drainage and irrigation work is undertaken. Council’s decision stands to end
four decades of unrest for Delta’s most contentious piece of real estate, which has been the subject of several high-profile development applications over the years. Coun. Robert Campbell said approving the Century proposal would end the uncertainty about the future of the land. “It’s not simply a numbers game when reaching a decision.
The numbers were certainly a factor to weigh in the force of our deliberations. However, the numbers for and against are only one of the many factors we consider,” he said in reference to a five-day public hearing where a majority of speakers voiced opposition to the proposal. See SOUTHLANDS page 3