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| Thursday, January 22, 2015
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Township tree-cutting penalties target private property owners By DAN FERGUSON Aldergrove Star
After discovering there was no rule that precisely covers clear-cutting without proper permission, a Langley Township councillor has convinced her colleagues to close the loophole in the current bylaws. Petrina Arnason won support from a majority of council on Monday ( Jan. 12) for her proposal to look into “creating a strict liability offence or other penalty framework” for private property owners who remove trees when they aren’t supposed to. Arnason’s push comes in response to the Beedie Development Group case, where the property owner chopped down all of the trees on property it owns at 56
Avenue and 272 Street in the Gloucester Industrial Area without getting the necessary approval from Langley Township. Beedie said it was done by accident, the result of a misunderstanding. At their Dec. 8 meeting, council approved a $37,800 settlement with Beedie after Ramin Seifi, the Township general manager of engineering and community development, said there was nothing on the books that covered the situation (council has approved an interim bylaw restricting tree-cutting in Brookswood, but it doesn’t apply to the rest of Langley Township). Without a bylaw setting out a penalty for cutting down trees without permission in
Gloucester, Seifi said the best approach seemed to be negotiating a deal. Seifi added the first financial offer from the developer “was significantly less” than the $37,800” Beedie agreed to in the end. It works out to $350 per tree (the number of fallen trees was originally reported at 82, but that figure was revised to 108 in a Dec. 8 staff report to council). Arnason said the current rules that try to restrict treecutting without setting out the punishment were “impotent.” The proposal was supported by Councillor Michelle Sparrow, who said “there should be some kind of consequence.” Township staff are to investigate the matter and report back with suggestions.
Pedestrian struck and killed on dark rural road Aldergrove Star
JOHN MORROW PHOTO
Members of Abbotsford’s Yevshan Ukrainian Dancers performed the Pryvit, a welcoming dance that presents wheat, bread and salt. This year 30 dancers performed for the audience of over 220 celebrating Malanka (Ukrainian New Year) at Aldergrove’s Catholic church hall.
A 54-year-old Langley man has died after being struck by a vehicle in a rural residential area of the Township on Thursday night. The incident happened around 9:20 p.m. in the 5700 block of 240 Street, when a Ford F350 pickup driven by a 24-year-old man struck a male pedestrian. According to police, the victim was dressed in dark clothing and had been walking northbound in the middle of the road. There are no street lights in
the area and it was a particularly dark night, with light rain falling at the time of the accident. Police say the driver remained at the scene and, along with other passersby, performed CPR on the injured man until paramedics arrived. The victim was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead. The driver has been cooperative with investigators and is described as extremely distraught. Neither alcohol nor speed is believed to be a factor in
the collision. The RCMP’s Integrated Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Service is assisting Langley Traffic Services with the investigation. The truck has been seized and a mechanical inspection will be conducted. The man’s next of kin have been notified and Langley RCMP Victim Services have been called in to offer support to those affected by the tragedy. This is Langley’s first fatal motor vehicle accident of 2015.
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