Youth: Thomas Haney student udent takes a long and lonely trip. 3
Se Seniors: Advocate visits Maple M Ridge. 11
Agriculture: Berries bloom early. 17
Friday, Februar y 27, 2015 · mapleridgenews.com · est. 1978 · (office) 604-467-1122 · (del iver y) 6 0 4 - 4 6 6 - 6 3 9 7
SmartCentres would build connector road Pitt councillors remain skeptical B y T i m Fi t z g e r a l d newsroom@mapleridgenews.com
SmartCentres has offered to pay for part of the North Lougheed connector in order to get approvals to build a new mall in Pitt Meadows. The developer, whose clients include Walmart, told council Tuesday that it would construct a two-lane road stretching from Harris Road to Abernethy Way. The road would service development of 65 acres of land on the north side of Lougheed Highway. David Major, land development manager for SmartCentres, said he hopes a dialogue with the new council will kickstart the development of the North Lougheed lands and,
in turn, allow the city to start collecting commercial property taxes in the area. “What I find that, so often is the case when I meet people in the community, particularly leading up to last November’s election, that there’s a lot of misinformation about who we are, what we own Becker or control in the north Lougheed area, and what our future involvement could be in the future build-out of these lands,” said Major. SmartCentres hopes to develop 43 acres of its land for a shopping centre and upwards of 19 acres for a business or light industrial park. Major said their project could create as much as $2 million in tax revenue for the city, as well as 1,200
jobs. Still, Pitt Meadows council remains skeptical. The last time SmartCentres came before council, prior to the November election, its plans were opposed by Coun. David Murray, Bruce Bell and Janis Elkerton. All three were reelected. On Tuesday, Elkerton wanted to know how much SmartCentres was willing to put up for the construction of the North Lougheed connector. “What would SmartCentres’ contribution be to the road – $10 million, $20 million, $30 million, $40 million,” she asked. Major did not have an estimate of the cost to build the section. See Connector, 8
Another recall campaign aimed at MLA Dalton Last attempt over HST fell well short By Phi l M elnyc h u k pmelnychuk@mapleridgenews.com
For the second time in his career, MLA Marc Dalton is facing recall from the B.C. legislature, where he represents Maple Ridge-Mission. A group of Maple Ridge and Mission residents is pushing for the recall and plans this
spring to launch the attempt to collect at least 15,000 signatures from voters to send to Elections B.C. “We’ve just started getting the word out,” said Mission resident and teacher Yvonne Hale, who’s leading the campaign. The number of 15,000 represents about 40 per cent of the voters in the riding, the minimum number required for Elections B.C. to call a byelection.
“People are excited and saying that enough is enough and they are taking action,” Hale said. “We feel that Mr. Dalton is not bringing our voice to the table in Victoria.” The first attempt at recall was by the Maple Ridge Fight HST group and took place in 2011, collecting about 2,500 signatures, short of the number required to start the recall process. See Recall, 8
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Sign of spring While eastern Canada is still in the grips of winter, a camellia blooms along a path between Haney Place Mall and the Leisure Centre in Maple Ridge on Wednesday.
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