The city is eyeing major servicing upgrades to accommodate anticipated future growth in the North Delta Social Heart area.
Council recently directed staff to provide a report on the infrastructure required to service potential developments in the area along 84th Avenue and 112th Street.
Municipal infrastructure is generally only sized to meet the servicing requirements of existing zoning, but when development sites rezone to higher density, infrastructure upgrades may be necessary.
The city now has a new Official Community Plan (OCP), which already prompted utility modelling by the city to review future requirements along key development corridors as the new OCP has identified the Social Heart area for significant development with both high density and medium density developments.
A report notes staff will be using the new information to update the Development Cost Charge (DCC) program and the city's five-year capital plan, adding it “is an opportune time for Delta to take advantage of renewing aging infrastructure while also increasing system capacity to meet long term future growth needs.”
The report provides a summary of the various requirements, noting the existing water distribution system on 84th Avenue generally has enough capacity to service the future developments fronting the avenue.
The watermains along 112th Street consist of old cast iron and asbestos cement pipes which are at the end of their service life. The watermains will be upsized to provide sufficient future capacity and are included in the DCC program as well as the five-year capital plan.
The watermains along other local roads in the area are generally smaller diameter and are anticipated to require upgrades to meet the flow demands for densities contemplated in the new OCP, the report notes, adding those upgrades are anticipated to be completed in conjunction with future developments with proportional funding from developers.
Meanwhile, the existing sanitary mains on 84th Avenue between 110th and 112th streets were built in the late 1960's and upsizing of the aging sewers will be required as well to support future densification.
The report explains staff have previously identified the need to upgrade that section of sewer and are currently working on the design, a project to remove a key system constraint and provide capacity for future developments fronting 84th Avenue within the Social Heart.
Construction of that key section of sewer will be undertaken in conjunction with the planned road improvements scheduled to commence in 2026, while the existing sanitary mains on 112th Street between 82nd and 83rd avenues will be upgraded in conjunction with future road improvement projects by Delta.
The report also looked at transportation issues including traffic, transit and further planned improvements to the cycling network.
The report adds that the city recognizes more cars are likely to be on the roads during the transitional period as the city densifies, and major developments are required to undertake traffic impact studies to identify improvements that can reduce the impact.
