- Target:
- Mayor and Council of Delta
- Region:
- Canada
- Website:
- www.burnsbog.org
This 2012 petition is now closed. Thank you.
History of MK Delta Lands Group & How it happened:
• In 2004, when the Burns Bog area owned by the McLaughlins was under foreclosure, the McLaughlin family asked Jack Matthews to rescue the Bog from foreclosure. He did. (J.M. Pers. Comment, 2004.)
• Jack Matthews then sold Burns Bog minus the 525 acres to Delta, the GVRD (Metro Vancouver), the Province of British Columbia and the Federal Government.
• The original piece of bogland owned by the McLaughlin family included the three pieces currently owned by MK Delta Lands Group Inc.
• In 2005 the Kerbel family (Ontario) and Jack Matthews (originally from Ontario, now Dallas, Texas) created MK Delta Lands Group Inc.
10770 – 72nd Avenue, Delta – 89 acres (26 hectares)
• It is surrounded on two sides by Conservation Area. This isolates the land from the community.
• The peat ranges from 10-17 metres thick in this area. (AGRA Earth & Environmental Ltd., 1999a up to 21.8 metres or 70ft. Pers. comment, MK’s hydrologist, April 29,2012).
• A good part of this area is identified as moderate to high habitat (50-75% of the best in the province) suitable for three rare and endangered mammal species (Pacific Water Shrew, Southern Red-Backed Vole, Trowbridge’s Shrew).
• Partly covered with historic pine, spruce, and yew forest. (Map 5.5 Ecosystem Review 2000).
• Water flows back and forth underneath Highway 99 between this property and the property on the west side owned by MK Delta Lands Inc.
Other Concerns:
• Impacts on people’s health regarding diesel particles coming from roads. (South Fraser Perimeter Road Tech. Report No. 16, Page 39 states that there will be increased respiratory and cancer related illnesses due to the construction of the road)
• Potential impact on the Conservation Area. When/ where is the tipping point where the Conservation Area can no longer withstand buildings and roads on unprotected bogland?
• This area is in a floodplain area. Water flows downhill from the Panorama ridge.
2004 Survey by the Burns Bog Conservation Society
• 93% of the people responding to the survey stated that the Society should “keep working on ways to protect that extra 426 acres" (currently identified as 525 acres).
Is destruction of this land inevitable?
• Before this land can be rezoned for development, the Corporation of Delta must change its North Delta Area Plan, and Metro Vancouver must change its Regional Growth Strategy Plan.
• The MK Delta Lands Inc. qualifies for a tax benefit under the Canadian Ecological Gifts Program if it donates its land to the Burns Bog Conservation Society or another organization with a charitable tax number.
Voice your opinion: Mayor & Council at corp.delta.bc.ca
And please sign our petition!
Donations are always welcomed. https://www.canadahelps.org/DonationDetails.aspx?cookieCheck=true
To the Corporation of Delta, Metro Vancouver, British Columbia assemblies, this petition of British Columbia voters and other concerned citizens humbly showeth:
The proposed rezoning of the MK Delta Lands Group Inc., 10770-72 Avenue, Delta, BC, from “Resource Study Area” to “Comprehensive Mixed Use” raises many issues: including the loss of habitat for rare and endangered animals, increased human health problems due to the nearby Highway 91. Recent studies show that people living within 100 metres of a highway have increased health problems and reduced learning abilities. The South Fraser Perimeter Road Technical Report No.16, Page 39, states that there will be increased employment in the health sector due to increased respiratory and cancer-related illnesses due to its planned location.
Further, this land owned by MK Delta Lands Group Inc. at 107770-72 Avenue and immediately across Highway 91 on the west, is surrounded by Conservation land on THREE SIDES, isolating this land from any other developed or developable areas in Delta, and therefore its development will negatively impact the Conservation area.
In 2004, 93% of the people who responded to a survey conducted by the Burns Bog Conservation Society stated that we keep working to find ways to include the “missing 426 acres” in the Conservation Area. This Includes 10770-72nd and the land to the west of Highway 91 owned by MK Delta Lands Group Inc.
We, the undersigned, request that the Corporation of Delta and Metro Vancouver refuse rezoning of the property at 10770-72nd Avenue from “Resource Study Area” to “Comprehensive Mixed Use” as proposed by MK Delta Lands, due to its proximity to Burns Bog. This property is in a flood plain that will require thousands of tonnes of landfill, placing people and their environment at risk, and negatively impact the water flow of the Burns Bog Conservation Area.
We hope that the honourable members representing the people of Delta and the Lower Mainland of British Columbia will refuse the requested zoning change by MK Delta Lands Group Inc.
The Save Burns Bog Today petition to Mayor and Council of Delta was written by BurnsBogConservationSociety and is in the category Environment at GoPetition.