Комиссия по сельскохозяйственным землям отклонила заявку города Абботсфорд на строительство нового парка развлечений

Abbotsford denied from using ALC land for new recreation park Published 4:31 pm Tuesday, August 25, 2026 The dream of having a new sports and recreation park near University of the Fraser Valley has now been snoozed after the Agricultural Land Commission (ALC) rejected the city’s application to use nearby property. The application, which was originally submitted in April 2025, proposed that the City of Abbotsford would utilize the area near King Road and McKenzie Road for a new recreation site that would possibly include soccer fields and baseball diamonds. In exchange, the ALC would get two properties along Lefeuvre Road, which are currently not within the protected areas. These properties consist of a combined 20 hectares of land, while the ALC land involved is about 18.3 hectares. However, this proposal was rejected by the ALC on Aug. 20, with city council now looking at possible next steps. Mayor Ross Siemens said the decision comes at a time when the city is experiencing a significant population increase, which drives the need for services like recreation amenities. “While we are disappointed with the ALC’s decision, it does not change the City of Abbotsford’s commitment to investing in opportunities that support active, healthy communities,” said Siemens. “The need remains, and we will continue exploring options to help address it.” Despite the exclusion and inclusion applications being submitted jointly, the ALC considered them separately, which ultimately led to the rejection of the exclusion request. In the application, the City of Abbotsford argued that the ALC land was an ideal choice for a recreation park due to its proximity to urban areas and transit, as well as its location on the very edge of the ALC area. The ALC argued that if it accepted this reasoning, it might be a slippery slope that would lead to properties all along the ALC border being more vulnerable to exclusion applications. Another suggestion rejected by the ALC was the idea to salvage topsoil from the property and relocate it to the neighbouring ALC property to maintain the possibility for agricultural production. The commission stated that the property held too much agricultural value that wouldn’t be sufficiently preserved through topsoil relocation. Despite rejecting the application to exclude the ALC property, the commission approved the idea to bring the two city-owned Lefeuvre Road properties into the ALC, if the city wishes to proceed with that application. Even though the exclusion application has been rejected, Siemens said it doesn’t mean the city is done fighting for more local recreational spaces. “Given the significant and growing need for additional sports, recreation, and park amenities in Abbotsford, council has asked staff to carefully consider our options and bring back opportunities for council to consider in the coming weeks,” he said. The application rejection comes only a month after council voted to proceed with a new arena at Abbotsford Exhibition Park and a new 50-metre training pool at MSA Arena.