Sumas Townhomes Nixed

One of these days that hill is coming down
A plan to build 51 townhomes on Sumas Mountain has been rejected by Abbotsford Council due primarily to concerns about the slope as well as the significant changes in the character of the neighbourhood the project represented.

The Estevan Court proposal would have necessitated rezoning the property from single-family residential to multi-family in order to allow for the townhomes.

Councillors John Smith and Henry Braun both spoke out against the proposed rezoning citing the dangerous slope on which the neighbour sits and the fact that, at the public hearing into the proposal, a large number of neighbours spoke against the changes it would mean to the value of their homes.

Smith even indicated he thought the City should not have allowed any development on the land.

Braun told council, “I cannot support a project that might put future residents at risk of landslides. The last one was in 1935 and, if you’ve been up there, that hillside appears to be moving.

Smith told council, I share Councillor Braun’s concerns regarding the slope and the risk. That is a very steep slope. Council should never have approved this.”

Councillor Moe Gill, “One of these days that hill is coming down.”