Frankly Speaking

Delta Mayor Lois Jackson will be retiring from politics in 2018, after 46 years of involvement with Delta council. First elected as an alderman in 1972 (the first woman ever to hold that office in Delta), she has been mayor of Delta since 1999. In late 2017, she ushered Delta into a new era as it officially became a city. The new year will bring a lot of changes to the South Fraser area of Surrey, Delta, White Rock and Langley. Some of the biggest potential changes could be at the local council level. Voters will elect new councils on Oct. 20, 2018. The results of the 2014 election, the first in which councillors and mayors were elected to four-year terms, ended up mostly as expected. Many indications are that 2018 could be considerably different. Four-year terms did not bring out the best in some local politicians. For sure, there will be at least two new mayors. Delta Mayor Lois Jackson is not seeking another term. She has been mayor since 1999. Her involvement with Delt...

There's more than one way to freeze things in Surrey. In January, 74 Avenue in Clayton was covered with snow. A few months later, demolition contractors took down three homes on the street to prepare the site for the building of a new elementary school. Now it is November - and there is still no funding in place for the school to be built, even though funds for it were promised at about the time of this snowfall. A rally on Oct. 28 once again highlighted the need for more school space in Surrey. This issue has become even more critical this school year, as a settlement between the B.C. government and the B.C. Teachers Federation following a lengthy court battle means class sizes are significantly smaller. Many Surrey schools were already short of space, and now there is significantly less. The rally was held at Earl Marriott Secondary and was organized by the Surrey Schools Coalition, a group encompassing parents, city representatives and the business community. Karen ...

The lack of parking in East Clayton is due to the City of Surrey allowing coach houses to be built on small lots, on the same lots as adjacent homes which have plenty of room for a suite to be added. The city compounded its initial mistake in approving this type of development by sitting on its hands in regards to urban infrastructure. Clayton has no library, no recreation centre, very poor transit (with the exception of the 502 route on Fraser Highway), not enough schools and many other deficiencies which urbanized areas should not have to wait two or more decades for. Whether it was due to detailed reporting, a meeting with representatives of the housing industry, or simply a change of heart, Surrey Mayor Linda Hepner has done the right thing in putting plans to evict tenants of 175 suites on hold. Hepner said Oct. 16 that the city would be looking at additional options , and holding off enforcement of a letter sent to property owners in August, giving them six months to g...

Frank Bucholtz photo This development proposal sign went up on 184 Street, shortly after work began on a new high school for Clayton. The new school is expected to open in September, 2018. Fresh on the heels of Premier Christy Clark saying last week that there is no need for a “made in Surrey” solution to the severe overcrowding in some schools, the Surrey Board of Education has unanimously asked the city to stop approving development applications in three neighbourhoods. Grandview, Clayton and South Newton schools are all overcrowded, with portables used to house thousands of students. Meanwhile, the provincial government, which determines when new schools will be built, has been slow to approve new schools for Surrey. This led to the board agreeing unanimously on Thursday (April 21) to ask the city to “temporarily suspend all new development approvals in the Clayton. Grandview/South Surrey and South Newton regions until the Surrey School District receives adequate prov...