Brookswood residents and landowners got their first up-close glimpse of the latest version of the area鈥檚 neighbourhood plans, in the wake of provincial regulations that dramatically changed what can be built.

In April, 91原创 Township council approved the first reading of new neighbourhood plans that incorporate small-scale, multi-unit housing (SSMUH). Provincial reforms intended to alleviate the housing crisis will allow for denser development including, on most suburban single-family lots, fourplexes.

Because most of Brookswood had been designated for single-family housing under the neighbourhood plans approved just last summer, that upended the Township鈥檚 plans for the area. The population could have been almost triple the expected amount if every lot developed as a fourplex, staff estimated.

Staff were sent back to the drawing board to come up with a new plan that took the new provincial regulations into account.

The re-vamped plan, presented to council in late April, aims to keep the total population of Brookswood-Fernridge roughly the same compared to the previous version 鈥� about 59,900 residents in the entire community when the area is fully developed.

With higher densities allowed across any and all single-family lots under the SSMUH scheme, this has been achieved by reducing the total amount of land that can be developed as housing.

In the draft plan, 2,330 acres of land (940 hectares) has been designated for housing, with 98 per cent zoned for SSMUH options, and the remaining land for apartments, mobile home parks, and low-density residential. That鈥檚 over 70 per cent of all the land in the plan area.

A significant chunk of land on the western side of Brookswood would not be used for housing or mixed-use development. The 135-acre portion (55 hectares) will become new employment lands, and is adjacent to Surrey鈥檚 Campbell Heights industrial area.

The Township is also clawing back land from housing for greenways, parks, and environmental protection areas.

The new plan envisions 20 per cent of the entire Brookswood-Fernridge area, about 235 hectares (580 acres) as conservation, ecological corridor, or neighbourhood park space. That includes dramatically expanding the area to be protected along streams and creeks, creating wider belts of natural land.

Previous plans had largely left the existing neighbourhoods of Brookswood alone, with some additional density at major intersections along 200 and 208 Street.

The new plan anticipates that some older areas of Brookswood, developed mostly in the 1970s and early 1980s, will eventually be converted over to SSMUHs.

This means that the total projected population numbers in the South Brookswood neighbourhoods 鈥� Fernridge, Rinn, Booth, and Glenwood 鈥� have been revised downwards, as they have lost housing land to employment areas, greenways, and parks.

But the total population for the 鈥榯raditional鈥� suburban Brookswood area has been revised up by about 9,500 people.

Projected populations under the draft plan are:

鈥� Booth 鈥� 15,500, down 2,600 from the previous plan

鈥� Fernridge 鈥� 12,500, down 2,700

鈥� Rinn 鈥� 12,500, down 4,500

鈥� Glenwood 鈥� 4,400, up 360

鈥� Traditional Brookswood 鈥� 19,500, up 9,500

One thing that is likely to slow down the re-development of older Brookswood neighbourhoods into fourplexes is the lack of sewer connections in most of the neighbourhood.

Unlike Willoughby, Walnut Grove, Murrayville, or Aldergrove, most of Brookswood鈥檚 suburban neighbourhoods were developed with septic tanks instead of sewer connections. Most of the sewer hookups in the area today are in a handful of homes along 200 Street and around the community鈥檚 urban core near 200 Street and 40 Avenue.

The report on the draft plan suggests that pockets of the traditional Brookswood area will continue to remain mostly single family homes due to owner preference and issues with servicing.

The Township plans to monitor these estimates, based on trends in building SSMUHs, and intends to revise them every five years.

The project still envisions five new elementary schools, two new middle schools, and a new secondary school being needed as the area develops.

Residents who came to the open house on Thursday, May 9 peppered staff and Township councillors with questions and ideas.

鈥淪ome people wan to densify, to build townhouses and that, and some people want to maintain the character, the green space,鈥� said Councillor Tim Baillie.

鈥淚 think they鈥檝e done a good job,鈥� said John Pattinson, who has lived in Brookswood since 1979.

He鈥檚 considering what he wants to do in the future, because he鈥檚 close to his neighbours. He was pleased to see a school and park site was planned close to his home.

The next step is second reading of the neighbourhood plan bylaws. Council will be able to make changes based on input from the public at the open house.

After that, there will be a public hearing for more input before council approves or rejects the final plan.

This is the second time the Township has completely revamped the Brookswood plans in a little over a year.