The Foothills Phased Development Amendment Passes 2nd and 3rd Readings

Wednesday night, The Foothills development team appeared before Lantzville City Council for a Public Hearing on the long anticipated Phased Development Agreement. With little opposition from the community, Council gave The Foothills 3rd reading and then moved to adopt the PDA, the Rezoning and the OCP amendment. Although the intention is always to debate and discuss the proposed plans, As Mayor Mark Swain commented through the process, “We aren’t hearing any debate at all”. The votes passed unanimously.

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Sidelined in COVID protocol, CEO Allard Ockeloen (attending by Zoom) stated after the meeting:

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“Much has happened since we first started down this path in 2014 with the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding. Starting with construction in 2017, the development of reservoir, roads and services liberated over 120 new properties and its remarkable to see the rate of construction of new housing and the economic upside that this has already generated.  Along the way, our work has remained consistent with the intent of the MOU.  Along with the build out including the needed infrastructure to service the Foothills, we dedicated 730-acres of land to the District for Park. We built an additional reservoir for the community that is now helping to provide water security to homes in Upper Lantzville, and we’ve managed this development entirely in a fully self-sufficient manner and are today only contributing, not taking, from the community.  I’m very proud of these achievements to date.  I believe the development shows well and that supporting District programs as we have, demonstrates our commitment to creating a stronger more secure community.   I think that is how development should and can be done in Lantzville and last night’s result tells me that the community agrees.”

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Lantzville Councillor Ian Savage spoke during the hearing and shared that he discussed The Foothills development with Premier John Horgan at the Union of BC Municipalities conference in Whistler last week. Horgan had commented that The Foothills village centre could be a model for development for other municipal projects. Savage continued, “(The development) has been a template for working together, listening to the community and working as a partnership with a strong foundation.”

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Mayor Swain closed The Foothills discussions by adding, “In 2024 ground will break again to the next phase – and that is exciting. It is an exciting time for Lantzville over the next 10 years.”