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▲ Surrey’s Lyles honoured by CIS 14
ECOLOGICALLY SENSITIVE AREA EYED FOR DEVELOPMENT ▶ SOUTH CAMPBELL HEIGHTS, HOME TO 13 AT-RISK SPECIES, IS BEING CONSIDERED FOR A BUSINESS OR INDUSTRIAL PARK KEVIN DIAKIW
WHEELS UP Carson Scheifner, 17, performs stunts with his pro scooter during Dario Jam at South Surrey Skate Park on Sept. 12. The event was dedicated to Dario Bartoli, a South Surrey teen and BMX and skateboarding enthusiast who was murdered last December. Proceeds from the event will got to local youth programs. BOAZ JOSEPH
A pristine area in South Surrey, teeming with fish and at-risk species of wildlife, is being examined for development potential as a future business park. South Campbell Heights, near 16 Avenue and 192 Street, is more than half the size of Vancouver’s Stanley Park and is abundant with salmon, 100-year-old trees, an immense aquifer and many animals, including 13 species considered at risk. The 245-hectare (600-acre) expanse of land is roughly bordered by 8 Avenue to the south, 20 Avenue to the north, 188 Street to the west and the Langley border (196 Street) to the east. It has been identified in several City of Surrey documents as an ecologically sensitive area, but is now being eyed for a business park. The particularly sensitive area south of 16 Avenue is called a “Special Study Area” which is defined as “an area where future land planning is projected, potentially leading to land use changes.” An environmental study commissioned by the city this year indicates the area is home to the Brookswood Aquifer which is “highly vulnerable to contamination.” The study notes the aquifer is “nearing or at (development) capacity” to provide domestic water “without Deb Jack decreasing the water table.” The study indicates the area includes tree stands between 50 and 100 years old, which “dominate the forested landscape.” Some of those trees are 100 centimetres (more than three feet) in diameter at chest height. The study also notes there are 13 at-risk wildlife species identified in the area, including the Pacific water shrew, Trowbridge’s shrew and a two species of bat. The expanse of land is just south of the Campbell Heights Business Park, which began development in 2003. The David Suzuki Foundation described that development as one of the worst continued on page 4
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