Residents living behind the former Langley Prairie school/Apex site are worried about their future views, after the City put out a public offering for the 4.17 acre property, including the option of a 24-storey high rise being built.

The City has already arranged, completed and paid for an environmental assessment report from Keystone Environmental Ltd., because the property contains a fish-bearing creek.

In April, the City received conditional exemption approval from Transport Canada to accommodate four 24-storey high-rise towers in the City’s downtown core, including on the Prairie site.

“All we are doing is throwing the hook out there to see if there is interest,” said Mayor Peter Fassbender, in an interview.

“There is a criteria for green space to be left and this is the beginning of a very long and very open process.

“I think people are jumping to all the wrong conclusions.”

High-rise towers have been in the City’s Downtown Master Plan for some time and so this shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone, he said.

Residents of the Huntington complex and a few other two to four-storey apartment buildings on 201 Street are opposed to skyscrapers, said Brian Nicholson, a resident representing Huntington. He found out about the City’s public offering by looking at the City’s website.

He spoke out against the idea at Monday night’s meeting.

“High-rises are not suitable where we are. We need green spaces. Take a look around the City, it’s pretty grey,” said Nicholson to applause from the chamber audience.

The City wants to see either multi-residential, mixed use residential or high rises as the possibilities for housing on the site.

“It would not surprise me to learn the City has already selected a purchaser/developer, given that the tender is only open for the month of July,” said resident Ken Campbell in a letter.

City manager Francis Cheung said 30 days for a public offering is common practice.

“A month is enough time for developers to put together a proposal,” Cheung said in an interview Tuesday. He said the deadline is July 30 so that staff can spend the rest of the summer going over the proposals to present to council for consideration in September.

“That way we aren’t rushing it. We want to have a good look at all of it,” he said. “Are we going to see high-rises in the proposals? We don’t know. They may come in at six or nine storeys, and not 24.”

Nicholson pointed out to council that above-ground parking would be needed because of the environmental impact.

Cheung does expect proposals, even in these difficult economic times.

“Developers can’t just turn off a switch and not develop.

“They are in the business of developing. We have had a lot of interest with different sites throughout the City,” said Cheung.

One proposal that has come up since the City bought the site is to create a small dog off-leash park in a portion of the large green space in the back of the property.

“We’ve been getting letters since we acquired the site. An off-leash park will be dealt with in due course,” said Fassbender.

The City bought the property from the school district last fall. Apex Secondary school moved out of the building and both the school and the old Langley Prairie school remained empty. Without security on site, homeless people moved into the historic school, causing expensive damage to the inside, including taking all the copper pipes.

Finding dry rot and asbestos, the City decided to demolish the 93-year-old building. Numerous residents and the heritage society were up in arms about the lack of consultation with the public.

There was even a social networking site dedicated to saving the school before it was demolished. The Langley Seniors Centre moved into the remaining school building after an arson fire burned them out of their 207 Street building. They remained there for a year but were able to move back two months ago. 

The building is now boarded up.