Streamside protection amendments failed to pass in Surrey’s council meeting

Some proposed amendments to streamside protection in Surrey were met with disagreement at a City Council meeting Monday.

10 speakers voiced their concerns about the changes that would require all setbacks and watercourses to meet provincial requirements.

Speakers took their turns outlining the environmental and developmental challenges created as well as the long-term effects on salmon.

The vote failed to pass and was referred to the council’s next meeting on September 23.

Julie Kelly, a concerned citizen who collaborates with various environmental organizations in Surrey says in spite of that more work still needs to be done.

“We’re happy that it didn’t pass, at least. But now there’s still some question as to whether there will be further public consultations,” she said.

Kelly thinks the council should be consulting Indigenous groups in Surrey because she says they have been overlooked.

“We have to protect the streams, they’re fundamental to our well-being and the well-being of the planet in general,” she said.

She says streams don’t live in isolation, they need the ecosystem around them and building around the stream could reduce the canopy.

“Streams in Surrey, there are a number of them that carry salmon. The salmon not only bring food, when the salmon die they leave all kinds of nutrients in the soil, so it impacts the soil quality,” she said.

“The salmon go out into the ocean, they collect all the nutrients from the middle of the ocean and bring it back to our shoreline.”

Kelly adds there is a shared concern that developmental interests might be outweighing the interests of the environment.