qathet Regional District’s (qRD) planning committee is recommending the regional board express support to the ministry of transportation and transit regarding two strata-titled subdivisions in the Lang Creek area.
At the March 25 planning committee meeting, directors heard a presentation from Michael Rogers, professional land surveyor with Polaris Land Surveying, and Jim Agius, Lang Creek Development LLP, regarding a 15-lot bare land strata subdivision and a 46-lot phased bare land strata subdivision in the area.
Agius said with investors from the Vancouver area, the 188-acre site has been purchased. He said it used to be referred to as Wolfson Bay and Mahood’s Beach and is now called Lang Creek. He said there is a 15-lot and a 46-lot subdivision planned for the property.
Rogers said with the bare land strata designation, the property owner actually owns land. He said, however, with any strata, there are shared resources, such as sewage systems and water systems.
He said with the waterfront portion, what is shared is the access road and a recreational facility, which includes access down to Wolfson Bay. On the upland portion, what will be shared is the access road, and a trail that provides access down to Lang Creek. Rogers said construction and maintenance of the roads is part of the strata and becomes the strata’s responsibility. The upland strata is a phased strata, said Rogers.
“What phasing does is it allows the developer to create a specific number of lots at a time and complete the infrastructure needed for those lots,” he added. “The lots are sold and at a future date, the developer goes onto the next part of the development. It’s quite an undertaking to put in 40 lots at one time on the market. The province has allowed phases for development so they can actually get through a large development like this in a more reasonable manner.”
Agius said the first phase road is being punched in and preliminary percolation tests are being done for Vancouver Coastal Health. He said most of the test holes have been dug and the tests were to be underway shortly.
Rogers said a lot of work has been done with the ministry of transportation regarding access and traffic. Agius said there will be two beach access trails and a parking lot as part of the development.
qRD Electoral Area C director Clay Brander said this development is going to be a big change for residents in Area C.
“A lot of people have been using the property for many years,” said Brander. “I just want to show my appreciation to Mr. Agius and his group for making efforts to mitigate some of the issues the public may have, especially adding the second beach access point to Mahood’s Beach because I know it is challenging to go from the trail you’ve created over to Mahood’s. I appreciate that and a lot of people appreciate that.”
Brander said his questions were around parking. He asked how many stalls were anticipated. He said people sometimes have to park on the high side of the highway, which causes risk in crossing the highway. He also asked about restroom facilities.
Agius said there are no guidelines for the parking and how much should be supplied. He said plans were for compacted gravel. He said the developers have not entertained the installation of washroom facilities.
The committee recommended to the regional board that qRD advise the ministry of transportation and transit that it supports the application of both bare land stratas, subject to conditions. These included proof of water and septic servicing that meets provincial standards for each of the proposed strata lots.
The applicant also has to contract a qualified environmental professional to complete a riparian area assessment.
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