Wednesday - May 14, 2025 - Harrison wants trails, dog park on ALR land

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Good morning!

When you’re just a little newsroom, there is such a thing as too many stories. Our format of publishing one major story each weekday means it can be challenging to manage the “mix”—that delicate balance of keeping stories timely while also ensuring coverage in each of our communities and making sure there is a good variety of features and straight news. There is the added challenge of making sure both Tyler and I have enough time to actually write the stories as the ideas present themselves.

That’s the difficulty I’m facing now. There is a wave of good story ideas, and I don’t want them to go stale. But with Tyler off frolicking in the waves somewhere warm (and presumably wearing gallons of sunscreen), there just isn’t time to write them all. But that’s journalism. Sometimes, you are spoiled for choice when you are least prepared for it.

– Grace

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News

The evolution of Stó:lō governance

There is strength in numbers. But sometimes Stó:lō Tribal Council president Tyrone McNeil wonders if that strength is why it can be so tricky for all Stó:lō first nations to work together.

While unity can help Stó:lō people, McNeil suggests it has historically led other levels of government to encourage First Nations to act alone.

There are more than 20 Stó:lō First Nations but the communities aren’t on their own when it comes to delivering services and advocating for their members. Over the last half-century, the First Nations have formed various inter-nation organizations to support their members. But with the groups constantly evolving, it can be hard to keep those groups straight.

Today, Stó:lō nations are generally represented by two distinct advocacy bodies, a service organization that operates under one of those bodies, and several organizations loosely connected to that service agency.

The set-up can feel maze-like for Stó:lō people seeking help—and in a way, it was meant to.

• Today, Grace breaks down the roles and responsibilities of various Stó:lō organizations, and talks to McNeil about the struggle to find unity.

Related

Need to Know

👀 A rental van plowed into the side of a home in South Langley Tuesday [Langley Advance Times]

🏚 There more than 700 Chilliwack residents without homes, and most have been without housing for more than a year [Chilliwack Progress]

❄ Mission exceeded its snow budget last year by more than 20% [Mission Record]

📽 Chilliwack’s Cottonwood Cinema is closing for good at the end of the month [Fraser Valley Today]

⚖ It could take months for the courts to make a decision on whether the Township of Langley can collect certain development fees from the builders of a new film studio [Langley Advance Times]

💐 MLA Tony Luck paid tribute to the late Kent-Harrison SAR manager Neil Brewer in the Legislature last week [Agassiz-Harrison Observer]

⚡ BC’s low snowpack and early melt could force the province to buy more electricity from the United States [Vancouver Sun]

🤝 Prime Minister Mark Carney’s new cabinet was sworn in yesterday, reflecting what he called a ‘hinge moment’ in Canadian history [Global] / Former Vancouver mayor Gregor Robertson is the country’s new housing and infrastructure minister [CTV]

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The Agenda

Harrison lobbying ALC for new off-leash dog park, trails

Harrison Hot Springs is asking the Agricultural Land Commission (ALC) for permission to develop two parcels of land for recreational uses.

One of the lots being considered is a parcel Harrison owns along McCombs Drive, adjacent to Chestnut Avenue. The village is hoping to develop an off-leash dog park on the one-acre property, weeks after residents urged village council to build a park for dogs to roam free before summer.

Harrison is also requesting the ALC’s permission to build trails in 80-acres of crown land east of McCombs Drive, near the East Sector Lands.

Both properties are designated as Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR), meaning the village needs the ALC’s approval before constructing new trails or other recreational uses on the lands. (The ALC typically needs applicants to prove that non-farm use on ALR land will not harm agriculture.)

Mayor Fred Talen said he would like to test a temporary off-leash dog park at the one-acre parcel by the summer. But ALC decisions normally take up to four months, according to its website. That means Harrison may not hear back until the middle of summer.

Talen also didn’t rule out the possibility of using the land for a new public works yard, which the village has been trying to relocate from near its offices. However, those proposals may require additional applications.

Harrison is currently applying under a transportation and utility use form, which only covers proposals for pipelines, roads, recreational trails, and other utilities on ALR land.

Tyson Koch, the village’s chief administrative officer, suggested that the dog park and public works yard proposals would likely require separate applications to the ALC, since they may fall outside the tribunal’s definition of recreational use.

Village staff are expected to work with the ALC to see if developing an off-leash park or new public works yard is allowed, or if another application is needed.

The application fee is $1,500. Staff are expected to report back to council at a future date.

—Josh Kozelj, Local Journalism Initiative

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🗓 Things to do

Small engine show: The Atchelitz Thresherman's Society hosts its small engine show on Saturday and Sunday at the society's pioneer village near Heritage Park. The show is free. Details online.

Beer party: Brewhalla returns to Fort Langley on Saturday from noon to 6pm. Check out more than 26 craft beer vendors, live music, and more. Tickets online.

Snake talk: The Abbotsford Mission Nature Club hosts its monthly meeting at the Ravine Park Hatchery today at 7:30pm. This month’s presentation is on garter snakes and their hibernacula in Delta. Details online.

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