The city is working with the province to solve a dilemma facing River Road West property owners.
Delta council recently agreed with a staff recommendation that the city enter a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development for a phased flood protection strategy. It’s to provide clarity for residents that own property along the river in Ladner as well as provide staff sufficient time to complete a comprehensive study of the corridor.
“Certainly, we’ve been in very close contact with the stakeholders in this last year and, in particular, this last six months. We tried to have a very fulsome and broad discussion on the issues that are affecting them, and really taking into account their thoughts and perspectives,” engineering director Steven Lan told council.
Many properties in the River Road West area, which encompasses Port Guichon, are shallow and located outside Delta’s dike system.
Lan’s report explains that when provincial dike guidelines were amended to address climate change and dike seismic design guidelines were established, it was determined the entire dike system would need to be raised significantly by 2100.
Property owners raised the alarm, saying the situation has left them with a great deal of uncertainty as they’re likely unable to redevelop or rezone their properties because the city will need part of their land.
Staff held a series of meetings with property owners where it was agreed a phased approach be implemented in meeting the anticipated sea level rise. The initial phase would bring dike elevation to 4.1 metres to address short-term sea level rise by 2050, although by 2100, the dike needs to be raised to 5.5 metres.
The city might eventually require parts of privately-owned properties for future dike upgrades on River Road West, from Kettles Road to 46A Street, which would conceivably render some parcels undevelopable.
Should a statutory right-of-way be required, impacted property owners “would be compensated accordingly,” the engineering report adds.
