Cold storage meets chilly reception in Delta

land.” The bog is also part of the traditional, unceded territories of several First Nations.

By LAUREN ACCILI

Acold storage facility to be built near what some call a critical part of the Lower Mainland’s environment has moved closer to reality over the objection of North Delta residents.

Following a public hearing at the municipal hall in Ladner on Feb. 14 that featured vocal community opposition, Delta council unanimously moved the proposed facility to final approval pending certain conditions being met by the developer.

Delta Fresh has applied to build a cold storage warehouse and food processing facility near Burns Bog in North Delta. The Burns Bog Conservation Society calls the bog the “lungs of the Lower Main-

Wesley Wollin, project director and architect for Delta Fresh, said the intended site for the Delta Fresh facility is not “farmable.”

“We do work very closely with many engineers and specialists and environmental assessments,” Wollin said.

“Both professional reports said … the current condition is not farmable, nor would it be feasible to be farmed.”

Environmental impacts were the biggest concerns for the 11 Delta residents who spoke at the February public hearing. They included Christine Johnson who was worried about the number of mature trees that would be cut down.

“Where does it all end?” Johnson said.

Kelly Jamieson, another North Delta resident who attended the public hearing in opposition to the construction of the cold storage facility, created a petition called No Cold Storage that received 750 signatures within the first two days of its creation. ety who also spoke against the proposal, said she’s concerned with the cumulative effects.

“This [cold storage facility] will disrupt how wildlife will communicate.”

Burns Bog, and I think what a lot of people do not realize is there are extremely stringent controls in place around that bog,” Wollin said.

Jamieson NORTH DELTA RESIDENT

“It’s just a wrong location. There are so many other industrial areas that already have the infrastructure to handle something like this,” Jamieson said. Jamieson grew emotional while speaking at the hearing and said that the facility along with the construction of the cold storage warehouse will “change the way we come home.”

“As soon as you start encroaching on those spaces, you permanently change the feel and the sense of community,” she said.

Beverly Hobby, one of the directors of the Burns Bog Soci-

Prior to the public hearing, Delta city councillor Dylan Kruger said the facility would give the farming community more opportunities for their products to be processed.

“It’s not as simple as building a warehouse on agricultural land in the sense that it’s supporting agriculture,” Kruger said. “And the farming community actually is vocally in favour of it.”

The Delta Fresh facility would be used for distribution of fresh produce and dairy products, cold storage and processing. It would not include meat products.

Wollin said he disagrees with those concerned about how the Delta Fresh facility will affect Burns Bog.

“We’ve actually looked at the interface between our site and

“There are always concerns with new developments, but there’s also no rational reasons for those concerns to be backed up.” Wollin said he has a lot of confidence in the application and that it will contribute to the resolution of food security.

“We get the anxiety that’s happening around the community, but inside the team we see this as kind of an exciting facility that Delta, we think, will be proud to have on its ground once it’s up and running,” Wollin said. “I think people imagine worst case scenarios.”

Delta council unanimously voted to move the application past third reading. The application is now on its way to a fourth reading for which the developer will have to meet various conditions. Meeting those conditions could take up to a year.