COREY BULLOCK
Over the past 18 months, the City has been working on updating the Official Community Plan (OCP). Part of that involves rezoning what is known as the Marysville bench lands, on Jim Ogilvie Way, from residential to light industrial. The area is currently a well-used recreation area with walking trails and great views, although it has never been zoned as a green space.
Since then, there has been a lot of discussion throughout Kimberley with regards to these future plans. Even the local Wildsight branch has weighed in on the topic, and they recently sent a letter to Council saying the organization supports a density of usage that is not included in the proposal.
“Residents have approached our Wildsight Kimberley Cranbrook office with concerns over the proposed industrial zoning of the Marysville bench lands. As a society working to support environmentally responsible citizenry and conscious local economy, we share these concerns. With consideration for the site’s natural and recreational assets, we do not see industrial development to be an appropriate land use for the Marysville Benchlands,” said Sharon Cross, President of the Wildsight Kimberley Cranbrook Board of Directors.
The letter goes on to say that these lands are only one of two green spaces accessible by Marysville residents without a vehicle and the site and trails are frequently used for walking and cycling.
“Industrial development of the site would take this valuable resource away from citizens, and compromise the recreational value of the popular Volksmarch trail: located directly adjacent to the proposed lot lines,” said Cross.
Kimberley Mayor Don McCormick says that the goal behind the potential rezoning is diversifying the tax base and bringing new jobs into the city.
“We want to drive in new tax revenue,” said McCormick. “We have this one opportunity to bring in industrial taxes and give Kimberley residents a break on their business and residential taxes. Without this, existing [business and residential] taxes will go through the roof.”
McCormick mentioned that Council could easily raise taxes, but he does not believe that is in the best interest of the community.
Cross also says that the bench lands are dominated by native vegetation, including mature trees and shrubs that provide shade, bird and wildlife habitat.
“Residents visit the site for these features and for some of the best view of the Rocky Mountains the Kimberley area has to offer,” said Cross.
According to McCormick, fifty percent of Kimberley is green space.
“We have 14 acres of industrial zoning, at that’s it,” he said.
If the bench lands are rezoned to industrial, it would add an additional 14 acres.
Comminco was the primary industry in Kimberley and for 17 years there has been very little industrial growth.
McCormick says that the OCP is a very well defined process with the priorities focusing on the future of the community and various uses for the land. There will be at least one, if not more, public sessions around the OCP, where community members and organizations can learn more about the official plan, and speak with the City’s Manager of Planning Services, Troy Pollock for a more detailed explanation of the plan.
McCormick says that the Volksmarch trail will remain as is, and that Polluck’s plan allows for development while keeping the trails in tact.
Wildsight suggests using the brown fields on the East side of Jim Ogilvie Way for the industrial park and rezoning the bench lands to Recreation Conservation designation (RC-2).
The brown fields in question are owned by Teck, and would need an additional 10 years, or more, of development, environmental certification and ownership of land. McCormick says that the City has already gone through that process with the bench lands, and it took them 10 years, especially with regards to the environmental certification as the bench lands are also designated as brown fields.