Golden Ears Business Park (GEBP)

The Golden Ears Business Park (GEBP) is located in Pitt Meadows, west of the Golden Ears Bridge and east the Pitt Meadows Airport.   Consisting of four project phases, the business park encompasses 76.5 hectares (189 acres) of land.  

Project History 

The land for Phases 1 and 2 of the Golden Ears Business Park was rezoned in 2009 and 2011 and construction is well underway.  The bylaws to rezone Phases 3 and 4 were adopted by Council on May 22, 2018.   More information regarding Phases 3 and 4, including staff reports to Council, can be found below. 

Project Benefits 

The Golden Ears Business Park offers many improvements to Pitt Meadows such as:

• assuring the economic base of the community through additional tax revenues, estimated at $2 million per year (in addition to phases 1 and 2 revenues of $2 million,) resulting in a lower tax burden on residential homeowners in Pitt Meadows;
• considerable road improvements, including the expansion of Airport Way to four lanes and fully signalized intersections in several locations, including a signalized pedestrian crossing along Airport Way;
• enhancing business and employment opportunities will allow for a variety of uses that will bring a range of services and job opportunities to Pitt Meadows; 
• significant replacement and maintenance costs for sewer, water and road infrastructure for single family homes will be borne by the developer instead of the City via property taxation;
• expanded parks and recreational space will provide an opportunity to re-envision the entire athletic park complex and to expand the user base for all of our residents regardless of age and ability;
• construction and maintenance costs for the buffers and berms will be borne by the developer; and
• increasing from 5 to 15 percent the allowable commercial use encourages greater retail amenities including the provision for daycare use which supports local working families.

New Recreational Land Amenity Contribution

As part of the development of the Golden Ears Business Park Phases 3 and 4, Onni Group Developments has provided a significant amenity contribution to the City, consisting of 13 acres of green space in South Bonson. This includes eight acres of park land and five acres of an enhanced trail network, with an estimated value of $22.5 million.

Eight acres of the amenity contribution land will be owned by the City for recreation and park use. The remaining five acres, allocated for buffers and berms, is secured through a statutory right of way that gives the public exclusive use while owned/maintained by Onni. This means that Onni is responsible for the cost of installing and maintaining the buffers and berms.  This land will enable the City to develop additional park, recreation and field space that will connect to existing sports fields.
A four metre pathway will be included within the buffers and will facilitate north, south, east and west connectivity, which will be used by walkers, joggers, and cyclists, and encourage active transportation.

Next Steps

Community Interface Committee 

Prior to the start of construction, Council will develop a community interface committee to proactively engage on construction impacts on neighbourhood livability, a first in Pitt Meadows.  Terms of reference will be developed for this new committee and neighbourhood consultation will occur during the development permit process.    
Prior to construction, the developer will be required to apply for development permits, which are considered and approved by Council.  The development will be guided over time by development permit guidelines to control the form and character of the development.  Development permit guidelines may be found in the City of Pitt Meadows' Official Community Plan.  

Current Activities 

Golden Ears Business Park phases 2 & 3 reinitiated fill activities as of May 1, 2017.  Residents can expect to see dump trucks hauling fill between the two sites along Airport Way and Baynes Road Monday to Friday from 7:00am to 5:00pm.  No fill activities are permitted on statutory holidays or weekends.