Surrey initiates new South Westminster plan

By Mike Harrison

In April this year the City of Surrey began work on designing a new neighbourhood plan for South Westminster, a primarily industrial or employment land neighbourhood tucked in the northwest corner of Surrey, just west of Surrey City Centre.

Background

From 2001 to 2003, Surrey designed and approved the existing South Westminster plan which stretches from the Fraser River to the West to King George Blvd in the North and to 96 Avenue in the South. The 1270-acre plan was designed predominantly as employment land, transitioning to business park and mixed-use residential as you move east and surround the Scott Road SkyTrain station. The vision of the current NCP struggled to come to fruition, stifled by a handful of development challenges including flood plain risk, geotechnical issues and fragmented ownership of small properties.

The New Plan

So, Surrey has kicked off the planning process to create a new neighbourhood plan more reflective of current market conditions which considers the existing development challenges and utilizes transit-oriented development principles to support the existing Scott Road SkyTrain station and the new R6 RapidBus corridor from Newton Exchange up Scott Road to the Scott Road SkyTrain station.

The new plan will be guided by the City Official Community Plan (OCP) and Metro Vancouver’s Regional Growth Strategy (RGS) which together outline the South Westminster plan area as one of industrial, commercial and mixed employment land uses which is not surprising when you consider the port facilities and extensive transportation network within the plan.

What to Expect

Surrey is only in the initial stages of the planning process, expecting to spend the Fall confirming plan objectives and identifying challenges and opportunities. Winter 2023 includes the exploration of land use, parks and transportation options followed by draft land use plans in Summer of 2023. If all goes as planned, the new South Westminster will complete in Summer 2024.

You can follow along the planning process on Surrey’s South Westminster planning page here.

How to Get Involved

Currently the City is seeking community input to help shape the future of South Westminster and has a survey open until October 27th to collect insights from those impacted by the new plan. You can find the Survey at this link.