Image: City of Chilliwack / A general map of land owned by City Life Church at 46791 Chilliwack Central Road. Chilliwack councillors will consider a proposal to build a sports field and track facility on Agricultural Land Reserve-designated land at its meeting today (Tuesday, Jan. 14). 

By Mike Vanden Bosch

Chilliwack City Council

UPDATE: Chilliwack councillors unanimously support sports field proposal from independent school

Jan 14, 2025 | 7:32 AM

UPDATE 6 P.M. TUESDAY: Chilliwack councillors unanimously voted Tuesday afternoon to support a proposal from Highroad Academy to build a sports facility on its property. The application will now be forwarded to the Agricultural Land Commission.

Original story below: 

CHILLIWACK — Chilliwack councillors will consider a proposal from a local independent school to build a sports field and track facility on Agricultural Land Reserve-designated land at their meeting today.

Highroad Academy, an independent school located on the grounds of City Life Church, is seeking approval for the development of a sports field, deemed a “non-farm” use, at 46791 Chilliwack Central Road east of Broadway Avenue. City staff are recommending that councillors forward the application to the Agricultural Land Commission with support.

According to a city staff report from planner Shamim Bahri, a proposal to exclude the subject property from the ALR in order to expand Highroad Academy was presented to the Agricultural Land Commission in 2006. The application was later denied due to what Bahri says was a lack of justification and rationale.

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Highroad, by way of City Life Church, has now submitted an application to utilize a 2.05-hectare (5.06 acres) area within the southwest corner of the lot for a sports field and track. A 15-meter wide vegetative buffer is being requested between the proposed track and the remainder of the lot to minimize future conflicts between the sports field and agricultural operations.

The proposed sports field is needed to meet the current and future needs of the athletics and P.E. programs at the school, which has grown from an enrolment of around 300 students in the 2021-22 school year to its current roster of over 460 students from 40 churches in the community. From the school’s own projections, it expects to grow to accommodate over 600 students in the 2033-34 school year. In 2012, about 11.6 per cent of students in British Columbia attended an independent school. That number has grown to 13.44 per cent in 2022 and is expected to continue upward. Highroad states in the city staff report that building an on-site sports field will significantly decrease the need to transport students to various facilities throughout Chilliwack as is happening presently.

Image: City of Chilliwack / A map showing the location of the proposed soccer field and athletics track at City Life Church, 46791 Chilliwack Lake Road.

Highroad submitted an agrologist report in partnership with David Sahlstrom Consulting which suggests that approximately half of the land within the subject property is farmable and capable of growing forage crops. On the other hand, the report from the consulting firm indicates the eastern portion of the property as well as the southwest corner of the lot is not conducive for crops due to poor soil condition and seasonal wetness. To minimize the impact on agriculture, Highroad hopes to construct the sports field in the southwest corner of the lot.

As per the agrologist report, the proposed sports field will not have a meaningful impact on nearby ag operations because the productivity of the southwest corner of the lot is considered minimal. The sports field is estimated to occupy 2.05 hectares of which 60 per cent (1.24ha) is currently farmed. To offset the loss of farmland, the applicant has presented a plan to enhance the agricultural productivity for a minimum area of 4.12 hectares of the remaining property. In essence, the proposed improvements to the remainder of the site will result in a net gain of approximately four hectares of agriculturally productive land that has previously not been cultivated.

The city’s Agricultural and Rural Advisory Committee reviewed the sports field proposal in December 2024 and made a recommendation saying it supports the proposed facility.