Abbotsford planners plot major changes along two roads

Big changes are being considered for two Abbotsford roads: one a little-used street between the hospital and Mill Lake park, the other one of the city’s key commercial arteries.

Larger, mixed-use buildings might soon be allowed along Clearbrook Road, one of the city’s busiest north-south routes. The city is also considering how to create a vibrant “enhanced street” south of Mill Lake through what is today a low-density, and low-traffic neighbourhood.

The two proposals are being mulled as the city updates its 2016 Official Community Plan, the key document that guides every decision about what can and can’t be built in different parts of town. Although council has yet to formally endorse a revised plan, they broadly supported the direction laid out by staff at a meeting in late 2024.

Any changes along the two roads wouldn’t come right away. Although the OCP describes what planners would like to see happen, any changes would take place over time through private development. The city itself likely wouldn’t take an active role in building new structures.

Clearbrook

Click here to view the entire document referred to in this story.

Clearbrook Road

North of Highway 1, Clearbrook Road is already one of Abbotsford’s busiest corridors, with a four-lane road flanked by tight strip malls, gas stations, and small shopping centres. But although the city’s 2016 OCP was focused on promoting higher density in commercial areas, it only allowed for relatively modest, locally oriented commercial buildings on the road between Highway 1 and South Fraser Way. The idea, at the time was to try to concentrate development into a few “urban centres,” one of which would have been located at the Clearbrook and South Fraser Way junction. That strategy hasn’t fully worked; redevelopments in such urban areas have been rare, with property owners preferring to hang onto their land, rather than pursuing large scale redevelopment projects.

Abbotsford Mayor Ross Siemens suggested that some would-be developers are holding land in the city centre, waiting for the moment when economic conditions allow for the construction of very large buildings.

The suggested OCP revisions are partly a response to such behaviour. A November 2024 report to council outlining potential changes suggests both expanding the areas where mid-rise larger, mixed-use buildings would be permitted, and potentially increasing allowable building heights in already-designated “urban centres.”

Planners suggested larger buildings could be allowed along Clearbrook Road, and the stretch of South Fraser Way between the historic downtown area and the city’s malls.

Meanwhile, in the designated “urban centre,” at the junction of South Fraser Way and Clearbrook, the document says the city should consider whether to allow high-rises and even larger buildings than are currently permitted.

The changes aren’t guaranteed; the document notes that planners should examine the capacity of existing infrastructure to handle such developments. Transit corridors, flight paths, and the availability of water for firefighters, are also factors.

Mill Lake + Abbotsford Regional Hospital

The revised plan could also lead to significant changes in the neighbourhood south of Mill Lake Park. Despite the 2016 plan generally promoting redevelopment across the city core, the area south of the lake remained mostly off-limits to significant development, with planners seeking to preserve its homes’ relatively large lots.

Eight years later, planners say the area’s proximity to both Mill Lake and Abbotsford Regional Hospital could make it an important link between the two city hot spots.

In a preliminary document outlining possible revisions to the new plan, planners have suggested the city should consider changing land-use designations along one road to better connect the park and hospital.

The two locations are just 400 metres apart from one another, but Primrose Street—the most direct link between the park and the hospital—is a rarely used residential street with just a handful of older apartment buildings, along with a few newer houses.

The new planning document suggests the creation of an “enhanced street.” While it doesn’t fully define what that means, the document suggests the city “explore mixed-use development to create a vibrant, liveable neighbourhood and support the hospital and urban core.” The document also suggests such changes might be considered south of Mill Lake, rather than only around a single street. Accompanying images depict apartment buildings with retail shops on the ground floor. the only one that completely bridges

Abbotsford council endorsed the report at a November council meeting. Staffers are now drafting revisions to the Official Community Plan. A draft will be presented to council in the coming months, with the city hoping to finalize the revisions by the end of the year.

Some of the changes are a direct response to provincial rules permitting up to four units on single-family home lots. Those changes require cities to update their plans so they align with the new provincial rules.

Other changes are indirectly impacted by the new housing rules, which are meant to stimulate the building of new homes to increase the supply of housing. In Abbotsford’s document suggesting potential revisions, planners write that they could backfire in some areas, by promoting the immediate building of detached homes with suites instead of denser multi-family projects that take more time and money to come to fruition.