On Monday, June 26th, Abbotsford Council voted in favour of the McKee Peak Community Plan. What does this mean for the trails?

The whole of the development process is expected to occur over 20 – 40 years, with some development projects beginning sooner while others are still years away. There are many steps that each developer needs to follow before beginning construction, so things won’t start very quickly. While we are saddened by the development and what it means for the trails, the FVMBA remains engaged with the developers and the City of Abbotsford with the goal of maximizing the outcome for the user base.

Some initial projects are already underway. Construction of new town homes by Prossimo at the golf course has this access to the trail network fenced off with trail closure signs. The FVMBA has reached out to them to try to find a solution to guide users to the trails without going through their development. Trail users can still access the trails via Westview, Treetop, Harvest, and Sandringham trail heads. There are a few new lines that appear to be in the works from unknown local builders so access to the Sanity Climbing trail should be restored shortly. The FVMBA is also exploring options for a new climbing trail and alternate staging area and is in discussion with another land owner regarding this.

Other areas likely to see development sooner than later include the Christmas tree farm area and the Harvest Rd access. Morningstar, the developer of the tree farm area is probably 2 years away from beginning construction. The Harvest road entry is not part of the McKee Peak plan, so Diverse is able to begin development at any time.