City Centre Plan

Hi Mitchell,

Planning for increased energy demand is primarily the responsibility of utility companies such as BC Hydro and FortisBC. The City coordinates with these utilities so that they are aware of our land use plans and anticipated growth. Within City Centre, the City operates a district energy utility, Surrey City Energy, that provides heat and hot water to new high density buildings. The goals of Surrey City Energy are to generate heat and hot water more efficiently while keeping energy affordable and delivering energy security.

Best regards,
Andrew

Hi Sukh,

Whether property taxes increase for your property depends on how its assessed value changes compared to the average for all properties in Surrey. According to BC Assessment, a property’s assessed value reflects its zoning classification. The Transit-Oriented Areas legislation does not rezone properties. Instead, properties are rezoned at the time of development. Please see the City’s Property Taxes web page for more information on how property taxes are calculated.

Best regards,
Andrew

Hi Rosy,

Most new roads identified in the City Centre Plan are meant to be achieved through development. This means that when developers assemble property for a development, they are expected to include any adjacent properties where new roads are identified. They would then dedicate to the City the portion of the property required for the road and can use any leftover area for the development. In rare circumstances where the entire property is needed for road, it may be the City that purchases the property. When a property is acquired depends on there being a developer to purchase the property and a willing property owner to sell it.

Best regards,
Andrew

Hi Claire,

The cost of new amenities and infrastructure upgrades will be estimated later in the planning process, once the updated land use, amenity, and infrastructure strategies have been developed. This information will be included in the plan and used to determine Community Amenity Contribution (CAC) rates and Development Cost Charge (DCC) rates that are charged to development.

Best regards,
Andrew

Hi Jim,

It is the reality that Surrey is growing. This is due to economic, demographic, and migration trends that are playing out in society. As growth occurs in Surrey, it is being directed to areas such as City Centre with existing services, amenities, and infrastructure, such as transit. By creating denser, mixed-use development, served by transit, active transportation networks, and the City’s district energy utility, we are planning for communities that emit fewer greenhouse gases. This builds on the City’s efforts to encourage higher performing buildings and reduce emissions from waste.

Best regards,
Andrew

Hi David,

The City Centre Plan is primarily a strategy for the physical growth and development of City Centre. Please see the following information on how the City deals with waste, especially the following:

• Plastic Bags and Single-Use Items
• Illegal Dumping

Best regards,
Andrew

The City Centre Plan is primarily a strategy for the physical growth and development of City Centre. The City maintains the Community Food Resource Map to promote food security in Surrey.

Best regards,
Andrew

Hi Kane,

As high density development occurs, new buildings provide parking underground. This means that over time, existing properties with surface parking will be replaced with higher density development that supports sustainable modes of travel, such as walking.

Existing parking areas that will remain, including underground parking in higher density development, are privately owned and managed. Often, parking stalls belong to individual strata units. The City has no plans for how these areas will be used in the future, but this is an area that may be worth additional consideration as travel patterns evolve.

Best regards,
Andrew

The City Centre Plan is primarily a strategy for the physical growth and development of City Centre. It will seek to address people’s physical access to food by planning for dense, mixed-use neighbourhoods where daily needs such as grocery stores are within reach for all residents. Mixed-use development provides commercial space close to where people live, while dense neighbourhoods support the viability of grocery businesses. Issues related to the economic access to food and the security of the food supply are important but beyond the scope of the City Centre Plan.

The effects of climate change are numerous and diverse. At a high level, the City Centre Plan seeks to mitigate climate change by planning for a complete and compact community where less carbon is emitted from transportation and buildings. We are also striving to create a community that is resilient to climate change’s impacts on weather, energy, the economy, ecosystems, and much more. Please see Surrey’s Climate Change Action Strategy.

Best regards,
Andrew

Hi David,

The City Centre Plan is primarily a strategy for the physical growth and development of City Centre and does not directly address the challenges posed by the heat dome and polar vortex effect. However, strategies are being developed for a city that is resilient to severe weather events caused by climate change. As the City Centre Plan is updated, we will look for opportunities to implement the actions and recommendations of the Climate Change Action Strategy, Surrey’s roadmap to a zero-carbon climate resilient city.

Best regards,
Andrew