Working Development Plan

After over four years of public and municipal input, a final working plan for Southlands is nearing release. While this consultation phase is not yet complete, the working Southlands development plan addresses issues important to the larger community:

• Creating a sense of place

• Housing choice
• Housing affordability
• Transportation choice and traffic reduction
• Life-long learning opportunities
• Habitat creation and enhancement
• Connectivity of the Regional Park to the wider community
• More recreation opportunities
• Community-controlled local agriculture

The working development plan for Southlands preserves more than two thirds of the land for local agriculture, wildlife, community recreation and pathways. The largest element is the land is set aside for community trust farming, creating a valuable, community-controlled agricultural asset supporting a new generation of farmer and ensuring local food production.

Although active industrial-scale farming on the Southlands has reduced the value of wildlife habitat over the years, the community trust’s agricultural practices are designed to protect existing forested areas and create new habitat with trees and hedgerows.

A third of the existing land will be developed in a compact form running along the south part of the site. This will preserve views overlooking a park, the community trust farmlands, and contiguous open space.

Download the Working Plan for Southlands brochure (July 2011).