\u201cSo far, so good.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s the word from Paul Orazietti on the number of responses to a survey about the future of the Cloverdale Fairgrounds.<\/p>\n
The Cloverdale Business Improvement Association (BIA) has launched the survey, in conjunction with the Cloverdale Community Association (CCA), to find out what people want the Fairgrounds to look like in the future.<\/p>\n
As of July 1, the survey had garnered more than 1,500 responses. Orazietti, the executive director of the BIA, said they\u2019re hoping for another 500 respondents or more.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is about more than the Fairgrounds alone as it incorporates people\u2019s wishes,\u201d he said. \u201cWhat do residents want? What do business owners want? This is the most important question because they are the ones who live and work here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Orazietti said the Surrey City Development Corporation (SCDC) will be in charge of creating a vision for the Fairgrounds. The SCDC is a real estate development company owned by but separate from the City of Surrey. <\/p>\n
Orazietti added the SCDC will interview residents, business owners, and meet with local groups, such as the Cloverdale District Chamber of Commerce, the BIA, the CCA, and the Cloverdale Rodeo and Exhibition Association.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to be transparent with what residents want and we need to be mindful of how development affects the Fairgrounds over the course of the whole year,\u201d he said. \u201cPeople here love their town and that passion is coming through in the survey results, but it can\u2019t be for just one segment or one group.\u201d<\/p>\n
REPORT<\/p>\n
Orazietti penned an interim report on his survey results and shared it with the Cloverdale Reporter. Several themes have popped up, he noted, including concerns about persevering Cloverdale\u2019s heritage spaces, persevering green space, and building a local, indoor swimming pool.<\/p>\n
\u201cRedevelopment has drawn an overwhelming response from local stakeholders, painting a clear picture of what residents want\u2014and don\u2019t want\u2014for the historic site,\u201d Orazietti noted in the report. \u201cThe survey results reveal a passionate populace eager to see modern public amenities integrated with a strict preservation of Cloverdale\u2019s traditional identity.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said an \u201cideal future\u201d for the Fairgrounds balances nature, recreation, and heritage.<\/p>\n
\u201cCommunity preference strongly leaned toward establishing cohesive public spaces rather than heavy commercialization,\u201d Orazietti revealed. \u201cThe highest-ranking categories selected by respondents included: enhanced walking trails, festival and event spaces, quiet green spaces, active sports and recreation, and historic and heritage-focused development.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said City of Surrey polling recently asked residents about a new entertainment district for the \u2018Grounds, but that didn\u2019t register with the interests of Cloverdalians in survey responses.<\/p>\n
\u201cIndividual priority rankings showed that high-density entertainment infrastructure took a back seat to public utility,\u201d Orazietti wrote. \u201cGiven a list of seven potential major projects to prioritize, residents overwhelmingly selected a new indoor swimming pool as their top desire. Conversely, large-scale commercial tourism projects, such as a new hotel and conference centre, or a large trade show facility, scored lowest on the public\u2019s list of project priorities.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said the \u201coverwhelming cry\u201d for a new indoor pool drowned out every other recreational desire. He said pre-selected choices showed strong support for enhanced walking and cycling trails, covered outdoor courts for basketball and pickleball, and dog walking areas or off-leash dog parks.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was the \u2018Other (please specify)\u2019 write-in section that truly highlighted a unified community demand,\u201d Orazietti explained. \u201cHundreds of unprompted, individual comments featured variations of the exact same message: \u2018Cloverdale needs an indoor swimming pool.\u2019 Residents repeatedly noted that while the neighborhood is well-served for ice rinks, families and seniors are being forced to travel to neighboring communities like Grandview Heights or Aldergrove to access public aquatic facilities.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said of the requested new rec. facilities (other than \u201cpool\u201d), both indoor and covered outdoor dedicated pickleball facilities were at the top of the list to \u201caccommodate\u201d the rapid growth of pickleball locally in Cloverdale.<\/p>\n
Orazietti said residents are \u201cfiercely protective\u201d of Cloverdale\u2019s cultural history. He added the Cloverdale Rodeo, the Flea Market, and an \u201caesthetic identity\u201d topped residents\u2019 priorities.<\/p>\n
\u201cA staggering majority of respondents indicated \u2026 new development (must) fully preserves the traditional Country Fair and Rodeo atmosphere,\u201d he noted. \u201cSimilarly, the community heavily values the preservation of the Cloverdale Flea Market, with a dominant percentage listing its continuation as a top priority.\u201d<\/p>\n
As for \u201caesthetic identity,\u201d respondents asked that development mirror the \u201cOld Cloverdale\u201d aesthetic, alongside public art, historical storyboards, and heritage design elements built into any new infrastructure.<\/p>\n
\u201cNumerous write-in comments expressed heartbreak over the historical loss of the site\u2019s racetrack and former barns, warning planners not to over-urbanize the remaining land.\u201d<\/p>\n
PUSHBACK<\/p>\n
Orazietti said the biggest pushback in the survey is against housing development on the \u2018Grounds with respondents indicating \u201cnone\u201d as their top priority.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen asked what type of housing they would support as part of the Town Centre Plan integration, the most common response by a significant margin was \u2018None (Keep it strictly for recreation\/entertainment),\u2019\u201d he noted. \u201cThe public\u2019s hesitation toward urbanization directly aligns with their recorded fears regarding the site\u2019s redevelopment.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said two \u201coverwhelming\u201d concerns have arisen over the proposed redevelopment of a space that began holding the Cloverdale Fall Fair in 1938 and the Cloverdale Rodeo in 1946: increased traffic and parking issues and the loss of green space or the open \u201cfair\u201d feel of the \u2018Grounds. Secondary concerns, he added, include: noise pollution from a newly designated entertainment district and the watering down of Cloverdale\u2019s unique heritage character.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe data leaves little room for ambiguity,\u201d Orazietti explained. \u201cCloverdale residents view the Fairgrounds as a precious community anchor that should be kept open, green, and historically authentic. Rather than transforming the space into a dense commercial or residential hub, the public is calling on the planning team to deliver a multi-functional neighborhood park space. If the city intends to introduce new infrastructure, the mandate from the community is clear: build walking trails, protect the rodeo, expand pickleball, and finally give Cloverdale its long-awaited indoor swimming pool.\u201d<\/p>\n
For more info, or to fill out the <\/a>survey<\/a>, contact the BIA via <\/a>cloverdalebia.com<\/a>, or the Cloverdale Community Association at cloverdalecommunity.org.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cSo far, so good.\u201d That\u2019s the word from Paul Orazietti on the number of responses to a survey…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":789964,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194299],"tags":[49,48,163792,87674],"class_list":["post-789963","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-surrey","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-lower-mainland","tag-surrey"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/789963","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=789963"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/789963\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/789964"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=789963"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=789963"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=789963"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}