Surrey approves redevelopment for land near Green Timbers Urban Forest

Surrey city council has voted unanimouslyto rezone five hectares of land next to the Green Timbers Urban Forest a183 hectare park made upof wetlands, lakes, a fishing dock and grassland meadows.

The city plans to develop the land to make room forahomeless shelter, transition housing, health care facilitiesand government offices.

"I can understand the city needs these kind of facilities to help those who are in most desperate need in our society.It's just unfortunate that they've decided to use this particular land,"said DonSchuetze, president of theGreen Timbers Heritage Society.

"The forested areas, the green spaces, the natural areas you can't get those areas back, they're gone."

The parcel of property isn't technically in the heritage forest, but manypeople consider it to be one and the same.

"To my mind something like this is so obviously part of what is historically consideredGreen Timbers," Schuetze said.

The provincially-owned property was sold to the city in 2014 and a plan to bulldoze the area has been controversial. A city development report notestwo other alternatesites were considered, but were deemed unsuitable because of location, purchase price and other constraints.

Schuetze said the forest is already under stress from previous road-widening projects.

With files from the CBC's The Early Edition, Tina Lovgreenand Deborah Goble.