Cypress Upper Lands Development

The process toward development is moving forward on Cypress.

The DWV (and BPP) have released guidance to the public regarding the planning stages of Cypress Upper Lands Development. You may have seen this on the North Shore News!

The materials can be found here: https://www.westvancouverite.ca/upperlands

We are now at the beginnings of the public consultation process - the area under discussion appears below and, in general, the decisions and actions that come out of this process will have a profound impact on Cypress riding, especially in the area of the first switchback.

When the time comes, it will be (critically) important for riders to weigh in. We (Alan B and I) have been told that if we want riders' comments to be considered, we need to make sure that RIDERS SHOW UP AT THE CONSULTATIONS. We will do our best to highlight dates and events within this thread to keep everyone informed best we can.

Of note:

• Development rights are still restricted to lands below the 1200ft line - this means that only the lower trails are directly impacted. This is GREAT news as in the past there was discussion of swapping rights in zones below the 1200ft line to allow development above it in some places. That said, Id assume that if a trail starts above 1200ft and enters into an area of development, that the trail (as a whole) will be impacted.
• The highlight of the proposal seems to be that development rights in the Eagle Ridge and InterCreek areas are proposed to be traded for concessions in the Cypress Village area (higher density than previously discussed). The gist of this is that the proposal claims to protect ER and IC from development into perpetuity while increasing the viability of Cypress Village due to the increased density. A good thing in my view.
• There is no discussion in the proposal about "recreation" above the 1200ft line, which is a departure from what was contemplated within the Community Plan that preceded this proposal.

Cypress is going to change but lets provide as constructive feedback as we can into the consultation process so that the result is as positive for the Cypress riding community as possible.

The process is going to be very different from Rodgers Creek, which had long and public Working Group. Also public engagement is going to be tricky during the pandemic. (The timing is courtesy of the District, not BPP.)  

In August they're planning "facilitated  engagement sessions with the public", likely done virtually, and a survey. What's in the survey will be important. I have a feeling that recreation has slipped under the radar and needs to be emphasized.

Oof, it's gut wrenching seeing the vast scope of their plans layed bare on a map like that.

I grew up just below that hill, never thought I'd see the day greed was allowed to prevail to that extent. 

Forests taken away in the name of profit, from everyone forever.

Thanks for your efforts to stay on top of this. Please keep us in the loop and let us know when us showing up is needed.

Posted by: Hepcat

Oof, it's gut wrenching seeing the vast scope of their plans layed bare on a map like that.

I grew up just below that hill, never thought I'd see the day greed was allowed to prevail to that extent. 

Forests taken away in the name of profit, from everyone forever.

Seriously. I'm all for some a few amenities at the bottom - a place to wash your bike and grab a drink or something but the amount of land clearing that's happening up there right now is astonishing. All so we can build more low density high end subdivisions. I took a road ride across Chippendale road last week (which I admit is a handy route to get around up there) wow that's some garish and tacky shit along there.

I'm always amazed that quite often no one says anything about a developer clearing forest to build houses, but people get up in arms about mountain bike trail building & riding.

I encourage folks to take a pedal down Fern trail. It’s unrecognizable. 

To their credit, they are looking to raise the density of Cypress Village, which is very different from the $5-$12M homes that you see in what’s been developed so far. But yes, there’s clear cutting going on. The area of the first SB is the natural end of most people who ride Cypress ride. That area looks like it’s getting nuked. All those trails are likely done. 

But maybe not - that’s what public consultation is for.

My biggest concern is that lands above 1200 ft are excluded from any consideration during Cypress Village consultations. This would leave the trails higher than Fernie dangling in the wind for another decade!

What do you think? How much do you care about Are the trails above 1200 ft worth fighting for?

I care a great deal for the trails on all of Cypress. But let's face it, once they start developing then no matter how much opposition there is they are going to do their thing. Money talks.

Last year they were doing an open day type thing at the bottom, I was talking to some dude in charge and he was saying how he enjoyed biking, then he described what rode, I left pretty down.

The only trails they are going to allow in any of the village areas are going to be gravel, with the odd steps, like those on stupid grouse, which are pretty boring.

Posted by: Kieran

I care a great deal for the trails on all of Cypress. But let's face it, once they start developing then no matter how much opposition there is they are going to do their thing. Money talks.

Last year they were doing an open day type thing at the bottom, I was talking to some dude in charge and he was saying how he enjoyed biking, then he described what rode, I left pretty down.

The only trails they are going to allow in any of the village areas are going to be gravel, with the odd steps, like those on stupid grouse, which are pretty boring.

For trails west of the first switchback, you could be right. However lands further east are too steep for development. Think S&M and Trunk Monkey.

The 2016 visioning process by BPP included images such as this for lands below 1200 ft.

What year is it now??? 2020???

Hi Alan, it is Gord in Vic... I cannot get into my NSMB Gord B account... forgot my password. Hope all is well with you and the Cypress conversations.

It has been a long time... 2017 and I dropped out of sight and moved me and my mom to Vic, and now, I am full time dealing with 90 year old mom since I removed her from the nursing home March 3 when I saw what was coming.

I just reviewed the remarks above about Cypress. Wow. Three years later and it seems a lot of the same.

I wanted to get in touch with DDean since the MTBCypress facebook page is still getting daily check ins... does DDean what to be an admin there so he can disseminate his content and knowledge into that group of 400?

In other news, yea, I miss Cypress. I found some trails over here that remind me of the magic there.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder... but also clears the mind: When I read the above 1200 stance of the DWV... I just have to call it the way I see it: They are not interested in MTB up there. Period. The manager of parks does not care. Stringing us along. If I were a pessimist... some in the DWV are making MTB on Cypress their project to take them to retirement.

I admire and respect you Alan!!! I do not know how you do it. They better give you the key to Cypress recognition for all your work with Old Growth and biking up there, and stewardship of course.

DDean... pm me about that facebook group... you could post in there. I am literally out of the loop now.

Cheers.

Gord

West Van Planning is working on Planning Principles for Cypress Village. It needs work on supporting recreation, including bouldering, hiking, bird watching and biking.

Here are my suggestions. What would you like to see?

1) Support and enhance existing recreational uses in the Cypress Village area. 

2) Maintain the existing recreational experience above the 1,200 foot contour. 

3) Work toward recognition and long term maintenance of existing recreational facilities above the 1,200 foot contour.

Once they get going we will have to adapt the trails to the development. It would be great to see some kind of accommodation to the trails that all converge to finish around the first switchback. The development on Burke managed to accommodate the trails pretty well, even adjusting some of the lot shapes to allow for connecting trails between roads and forest.

Agreed, craw. Look at the map in my July 13 post and notice the difference between "Neighbourhood" hiking/biking trails and "Enhanced" hiking/biking trails.