New students, no school: Pitt Meadows not pegged for new school site

This story has been updated to include a response from SD42 regarding the plot of land in South Bonson.

Although hundreds of new people may call Pitt Meadows home in the next decade, the school board doesn’t think the city needs another school any time soon. 

Nearly two months after School District 42 identified one new eligible school site in the region — an elementary school in Maple Ridge’s Silver Valley neighbourhood — Pitt Meadows city council ratified the district’s proposal at a meeting on July 9. 

The school board estimated that 1,015 new residential units will be built in Pitt Meadows over the next 10 years, up slightly from a projection of 1,000 units last year. 

The projections are based on a variety of factors including the city’s housing needs plan, official community plan and unit counts. It doesn’t account for recent rezoning changes required by the province’s Transit Oriented Areas (TOA) and Small-Scale Multi-Unit housing legislation. 

(The province has identified two TOAs in Pitt Meadows, and the city introduced three new housing zones in May to accommodate the demand for housing.) 

“Overall, the projections used by School District 42 to estimate the school site needs for this year and the eligible school site proposal does appear suitable for Pitt Meadows,” said Patrick Ward, the city’s director of planning and development. 

The decision comes despite the school board owning a parcel of land in the South Bonson community that could host a new school.

The site, located at 11225 Bonson Rd. adjacent to the Nature’s Walk townhouse project, is not expected to be developed within the next 10 years, according to SD 42’s 2022 strategic facilities plan. But Coun. Bob Meachen questioned whether that would be the right decision, as many Pitt Meadows residents are wondering whether the city needs to add a new school.

“I can tell you, within the community, there’s a lot of discussion about whether we need a school or not,” he said. “Mostly it’s ‘we need another school’ or ‘we need to expand.’” 

There is no update on the district’s plan to develop the South Bonson site at this time, Ward said at the meeting. 

In a statement to The Ridge, due to summer holidays, SD42 could not provide a statement before deadline. 

Two days after this story was initially released, the school board said in an email that student enrolment is static in the area and there is no immediate need to build a new school. The city is planning for development in the North Lougheed corridor and SD42 is currently vetting the area for future enrolment projections.

“These projects and developments are a current snapshot in time and could change in the future due to development, Bill 44 [Small-Scale, Multi-Unit housing], and enrolment in the area,” the school board wrote.

In total, SD42 is expecting nearly 2,000 school-aged children and 11,775 new residential units in the Ridge Meadows region over the next 10 years, a significant increase from the roughly 1,300 students and 7,945 housing units that were projected to come to Pitt Meadows and Maple Ridge over the same timeframe last year. 

The increase is primarily due to an increase of developments in Maple Ridge, according to a report to Pitt Meadows council.

Although only one new school is likely being added to the Ridge Meadows community in the near future, SD42 has taken steps in recent years to upgrade its existing school infrastructure. 

The 64-year-old Pitt Meadows Secondary School is scheduled to be replaced following an announcement last year. A $16.8 million project is going to increase the capacity of Maple Ridge’s Harry Hooge Elementary from 465 to 680 students. And Whonnock Elementary is receiving HVAC upgrades as part of a 2023 investment from the provincial government. 

Housing and population increase projections may continue to vary in Pitt Meadows in the future, according to a report to council. 

The impact from TOA and Small-Scale Multi-Unit Housing is still unknown. 

The city expects to release a new housing needs report by Jan. 1, 2025 which will be shared with SD42 to assist with any future school development plans.