The Burns Bog Conservation Society has declared its opposition to a rezoning proposal for land just outside the designated bog conservation zone.
The conservation group also says it started gathering an online as well as written petition, both already reaching a combined 2,000 names.
"I've talked to people who are extremely angry over this proposal. People have approached me before the society came out with our petition and our letters and they're looking for us to take a stand, and we have now," said society president Eliza Olson.
MK Delta Lands Inc. submitted an official community plan amendment application to change a 36-hecatre (89 acre) parcel from "resource study area" to "comprehensive mixed use."
The site is a rectangular piece located along the east side of Highway 91 and immediately south of 72nd Avenue. It's located next to the bog's ecological conservancy area, but just outside the protected zone. The application doesn't specify exactly what would be built, as that would be determined following consultations with the community.
In 2004, four levels of government - federal, provincial, regional and municipal - purchased about 2,000 hectares (5,000 acres) of the bog for $73 million. Five times the size of Stanley Park, it was designated as the Burns Bog Ecological Reserve, a protected zone. However, 200 hectares (500 acres) now owned by MK Delta Lands Group were not included in the purchase.
The bog society expressed some concerns about the company's application but didn't state a position, deciding instead to gather information.
Noting the land in question is, in fact, part of Burns Bog and should have been included as part of the conservancy area, Olson noted there's several reasons why the land shouldn't be developed, including various environmental concerns.
Olson, who submitted her own preliminary report at municipal hall, said she asked to make a presentation to Delta council but was informed it's currently not hearing submissions on the application.
The application also requires the regional district's approval to amend the property's designation in the Regional Growth Strategy.
The company's submission to Metro Vancouver states that a progressive, medium-to-high-density, mixed use neighbourhood will result in "significantly more progress" in achieving the goals of the growth strategy beyond the value of leaving the land in its cur-rent state.
The company also says the land was deemed "nonessential" for the future health of the bog during a 2000 ecosystem review. The Burns Bog Conservation Society and others disagree, noting the report stated there is an "important hydrological connection."
In a recent letter to council, local environmentalist Susan Jones noted it's alarming that it appears agreements were made behind closed doors during the bog purchase in 2004 and that the developers are now calling in favours.
Delta will also hold public information meetings on the application.
