Maple Ridge backs sewer extension for UBC’s Malcolm Knapp Research Forest expansion
Maple Ridge is backing a renewed request to extend municipal sewer service to UBC’s Malcolm Knapp Research Forest, where the university is planning a multi-year expansion of its research and education facilities.
Council unanimously approved the request Sept. 8, agreeing to forward an updated application to the Greater Vancouver Sewerage and Drainage District (GVS&DD) to amend the Fraser Sewerage Area boundary at 14500 Silver Valley Rd.
The application is needed because UBC has revised plans for its proposed Gateway Project at the research forest since Metro Vancouver approved an earlier sewer boundary amendment in 2024.
The Malcolm Knapp Research Forest covers 5,157 hectares of protected coastal forest and has operated since 1949. The site contains more than 200 kilometres of roads and trails and hosts more than 100 active research projects at any given time, along with environmental education programs and the Loon Lake Lodge and Retreat Centre. More than 60,000 visitors, researchers and students use the forest each year, according to a city staff report.
UBC’s Gateway Project includes a new office and research building for education, research and public outreach, as well as a workshop and outdoor laboratory with classrooms, a wood shop, storage space and an emergency response hub. The project would also relocate an existing caretaker building.
Maple Ridge council first endorsed a request for sewer service to the property in July 2023. The GVS&DD board subsequently approved the request in January 2024, changing the Fraser Sewerage Area boundary to include four building footprints associated with the proposed expansion.
However, UBC has since changed the site’s layout and building designs, requiring another boundary amendment.
The revised plans include a new road alignment intended to separate visitors from heavy forestry vehicles and traffic heading to Loon Lake, relocated and modified research and workshop buildings, a relocated caretaker building and a new location for the sewer connection. A proposed future Katzie First Nation longhouse has also been removed from the current application.
The property presents an unusual servicing issue because it sits outside both Metro Vancouver’s Urban Containment Boundary and the Fraser Sewerage Area. Regional policies generally discourage extending sewer service into conservation and recreation lands outside the urban boundary in an effort to limit the spread of urban development.
City staff argue the project qualifies for an exception under Metro Vancouver’s regional growth strategy because the sewer boundary would be restricted to the proposed building footprints and would not open the rest of the property to development.
The city’s existing gravity sewer would be extended approximately 670 metres north along Silver Valley Road. A new 200-millimetre on-site gravity sewer would be sized to serve the Gateway Project’s current and planned needs without significant spare capacity for additional development elsewhere.
Without approval, UBC would have to rely on an on-site wastewater treatment system. The university’s civil consultant has said that option is impractical because occupancy at the site fluctuates with events and seasons. Staff also cited limited infiltration capacity, the sensitivity of the surrounding environment and the proximity of groundwater wells.
The updated application will now go to the GVS&DD for consideration. If the boundary amendment is approved, future building permit applications would still have to comply with Maple Ridge bylaws and policies, with UBC responsible for any infrastructure improvements triggered by the redevelopment.
