On April 16, 2019, staff provided Council with an update on an Employment Lands Process underway in the City of Maple Ridge, which included a focus on the suitability of the Yennadon Lands for future employment purposes. At that meeting, the Yennadon Lands were referred back to staff to meet with the landowners to assess their interest in the lands.
A Landowners Workshop was held at Yennadon Elementary on June 6, 2019, from 6 – 8 pm. Twelve letters were sent out to the landowners, representing all 13 properties, inviting them to attend. At the Workshop, 18 people attended representing 11 of the properties.
On June 18, 2019, staff provided a verbal update to Council on the outcomes of the June 6, 2019 Workshop with Yennadon Landowners, namely that there were strong levels of support for an employment future.
At the June 18, 2019, Council meeting, Council directed staff to undertake an employment land use redesignation process and consultation strategy for the Yennadon Lands. As of the June 18, 2019, Council meeting, Council directed that any new applications, or those already in-stream that have not reached third reading, be deferred until any potential OCP amendments are presented at Public Hearing and given third reading, except applications that propose future employment land uses.
Staff brought an Information Report to Council on March 31, 2020 as under Council's earlier direction, a public process was anticipated to begin in the spring of 2020. The recording of the Council Meeting is available here.
Under direction from Public Health Officials, City staff were unable to begin the public process at that time. Recognizing the timeliness of the Yennadon Lands Redesignation Process to the community, Council directed staff to bring forward preliminary concepts for Council consideration before proceeding with the public consultation process.
On July 14, 2020, staff in collaboration with a consultant presented three preliminary land use concepts for Council to review at the regularly scheduled Council Workshop meeting. The concepts are available in the staff report (Item 4.1) and the Council meeting is available to livestream here. At that meeting, Council expressed interest in Concept #2 of the Staff Report and directed staff to bring that concept to the public as part of the public consultation process anticipated for Fall 2020. It was also noted that the public consultation summary report should be accompanied by the Official Community Plan Amending Bylaw when it is brought back before Council.
On Wednesday, October 7, 2020, the City hosted a virtual Yennadon Lands Public Open House from 6:30 – 8:30pm online via Zoom. At the Open House, three preliminary land use concepts were presented. If you were unable to attend the Open House, or would like to review the material presented, a copy of the presentation is available here.
The Yennadon Lands Open House Survey was available from October 8, 2020 until October 29, 2020. Input through this Open House and Community Survey was used to help inform Council's consideration of the preliminary concept plans.
The consultation outcomes available here (item 4.1) were presented to Council at the December 8, 2020 Council Workshop meeting. The meeting was recorded and can be viewed here. At this meeting, Council endorsed Concept #2 – Neighbourhood Innovations Village and directed staff to prepare an Official Community Plan Amending Bylaw to designate the Yennadon Lands for “Employment” and to create accompanying policies and design guidelines.
At the May 4, 2021 Committee of the Whole Council Meeting, staff presented OCP Amending Bylaws (No. 7734-2021 and No. 7735-2021) to integrate the Yennadon Lands Concept Plan (endorsed on December 8, 2020) into the Official Community Plan. The OCP Amending Bylaws were forwarded to the May 11, 2021, Regular Council Meeting, where Council granted First Reading to the bylaws.
Staff presented OCP Amending Bylaws (No. 7734-2021 and No. 7735-2021) to integrate the Yennadon Lands Concept Plan (endorsed on December 8, 2020) into the Official Community Plan at the May 4, 2021 Committee of the Whole Council Meeting. The OCP Amending Bylaws were forwarded to the May 11, 2021, Regular Council Meeting, where Council granted First Reading to the bylaws. The full staff report and OCP Amending Bylaws are available here (Item 1101). Once available, the Council Meeting Minutes will be available here. The meetings are recorded and available for viewing at http://media.mapleridge.ca/Mediasite/Showcase.
In respect of Section 475 of the Local Government Act, staff submitted referrals to the following agencies regarding the proposed re-designation of the Yennadon Lands: Metro Vancouver, School District No. 42, local First Nations, Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development, as well as the Agricultural Land Commission.
Following receipts of the referral responses, Staff presented the Second Reading Report and three Official Community Plan Amending Bylaws at the April 5, 2022 Committee of the Whole Council Meeting. Council moved the item for debate and consideration of Second Reading at the April 12, 2022 Regular Council Meeting (7pm).
Council granted Second Reading of the bylaws at the April 12, 2022, Regular Council Meeting. The full staff report and OCP Amending Bylaws are available here (Item 1111). The meetings are recorded and available for viewing at http://media.mapleridge.ca/Mediasite/Showcase.
The three Yennadon Lands OCP bylaws were presented at the May 17, 2022, Public Hearing meeting. The Public Hearing agenda is available here and the three OCP bylaws are the first item on the agenda. The meetings are recorded and available for viewing at http://media.mapleridge.ca/Mediasite/Showcase.
The three OCP bylaws were considered for Third Reading at the May 24, 2022, Regular Council Meeting. At that meeting, Council granted Third Reading to the three bylaws. The meetings are recorded and available for viewing at http://media.mapleridge.ca/Mediasite/Showcase.
In the fall of 2022, application 2022-170-AL to exclude 23154 128 Ave from the Agricultural Land Reserve was presented to Council at the October 18, 2022 Committee of the Whole Council Meeting. Read the Committee of the Whole Report.
At the October 25, 2022 Regular Council Meeting, Council forwarded application 2022-170-AL to Public Hearing. The application was presented at the November 22, 2022, Public Hearing and at the November 29, 2022, Regular Council Meeting, Council forwarded the application to the Agricultural Land Commission for their consideration.
The City of Maple Ridge approved the Yennadon Lands Area Plan on July 23, 2024, through the Official Community Plan Amending Bylaw No. 7734- 2021 and No. 7735-2021. (see OCP Section 8). The Yennadon Lands Area Plan creates a complete neighbourhood where residents and business owners can live, work, and play within a short walk or bicycle ride of their residence. Development will be directed in a sensitive and scaled manner so that the employment park is compatible with the adjoining residential neighbourhood. For more information, you can view the staff report here.
