ALDERGROVE STAR STAR Your Hometown Community Newspaper for over 54 Years
| Thursday, April 5, 2012
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High school rugby Hi in action! PAGE 13
Page 3: Candlelight vigil remembers Vimy Outstanding in the Field
ALC to reconsider farmland decision By KURT LANGMANN Aldergrove Star
HARRY HUNT PHOTO
Aldergrove soccer enthusiasts are working on raising the final installment for construction of a new artificial turf field at Aldergrove Athletic Park. From left, Bill Ede, Charlie Fox, Hilary McRoberts, Art Bandenieks and Reid McDonald.
Artificial turf dream soon a reality Aldergrove Star
Township Councillor Charlie Fox and the Aldergrove Soccer Field Committee toured the site of the now two week old construction project at Aldergrove Athletic Park on Friday. It will be the location of the new synthetic turf fields in Aldergrove. The main field and an expansion of the existing parking lot to the south of it are the focus of the current excavating activity by a local Langley contractor, Cedar Crest Lands Ltd., which won the contract bid to build the $1.8 million dollar facility.
The Langley Parks and Recreation department structured the project so that it could partner with the local soccer community and enable them to add to this project a second, slightly smaller, synthetic turf field. Bill Ede, Aldergrove Youth Soccer President said that, “One field doesn’t accommodate the needs of all 700-plus soccer kids in Aldergrove. Turns out the gravel field next to the new synthetic field can be covered by a synthetic turf for a lot less than it costs to install a completely new field. So we are attempting to do just that
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while we can benefit from the cost savings available to us by doing both fields at the same time.” Art Bandenieks said that, “To cover the second field costs about $440,000. The two local soccer clubs have raised $100,000 and quite recently we received a $30,000 pledge from one of our soccer families who have a young soccer player just starting out. Together with some astute pencil sharpening by Parks and Rec, we are now just short by approximately $110,000 for this project to complete.” Earlier in the week Reid
McDonald led a delegation to Township of Langley Council where Charlie Fox put forward a motion to Council which passed. It directed Al Neufeld, manager of Parks Design and Development, to come up with a report for Council to act on, regarding the partnering of the soccer community in this project. Hilary McRoberts, president of Aldergrove United Soccer, reported late Sunday that, “This weekend we were hosting our annual Barry Bauder Memorial Soccer Tournament, a fundraiser, SEE: Page 3
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The B.C. Supreme Court has ruled that a group of Aldergrove property owners should have their applications for exclusion from the Agricultural Land Reserve reconsidered by the Agricultural Land Commission. The applicants had applied to the ALC for exclusion of eight properties adjacent to the Gloucester Industrial Estates on the basis that the lands were non-arable and poorly drained, making them unsuitable for farming. Their application had been supported by Langley Township, but had been turned down the commission on August 26, 2010. In his reasons for judgment issued March 28, Justice Wong noted that the ALC had already agreed to reconsideration of their original decision prior to the court hearing in February, and that “there is no element of the commission’s conduct in this court proceeding that is challenged.” However, Justice Wong said the decision was inconsistent with the agrologist’s findings, and that, “There was also a complaint that two of the commission members’ remarks at the application hearing indicated unfortunate bias towards private applicants applying for exclusion from Agricultural Land Reserve.” Justice Wong set aside the commission’s previous order of refusal, and ruled that it be reconsidered pursuant to legislation. Among the justice’s directions is that Commissioners Sylvia Pranger and John Tomlinson will not be permitted to decide on the reconsideration, and it should either be heard by other members of the commission or a panel of the commission. In the court’s directions, the applicants will be permitted to present oral and written submissions and will be provided 30 days notice of the reconsideration meeting. The commission may also give notice to any person it considers affected by the reconsideration, and to accept new material from these parties before a decision is made. Copies of any new material must also be supplied to the applicants prior to the meeting.
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