Green Shores | Case Studies
Riverbend Business Park, Burnaby, BC
↪ Green Shores for Shoreline (Coastal) Development project
Project Overview
| Location: Burnaby, BC | Project area: 6.0ha |
| Year completed: 2020 | Awards: City of Burnaby 2019 Environmental Award for Business and Development |
| Shoreline length: 525m | Shore type: Fraser river; floodplain sediment |
| Green Shores rating achieved: GOLD | Total points: 15* |
*Total points were assigned based on the Green Shores for Coastal Development Credits and Ratings system (2010).
Site Description
The site is located in the floodplain of the Fraser River, adjacent to the Big Bend section of the North Arm. Although it is not a marine shoreline, it is tidally influenced. Oxford Properties acquired these lands within the municipality of Burnaby with the intent to develop a high-quality business park in accordance with the Big Bend Community Plan. At the time of acquisition, the lands contained a non-operational landfill and had been the site of other heavy industrial uses that impacted the Fraser River shoreline and a smaller connected waterway, the Sturgeon Slough.
Project Team and Affiliated Organizations
- Contractor: Conwest Contracting Ltd.
- Architect: Christopher Bozyk Architects Ltd
- Landscape Architect: PFS Studio
- Geotechnical Engineer: Geopacific
- Coastal Engineer/Geoscientist/Green Shores Consultant: Northwest Hydraulic Consultants Ltd.
- Civil Engineer: Hub Engineering Inc.
- Coastal Ecologist: Golder Associates
Project Objectives
Restore and protect the natural function of the Fraser River riparian area adjacent to the business park, including the function of the intersecting Sturgeon Slough.
Work Plan
Key elements of this Green Shores for Coastal Development project included: removal of hard shoreline protection elements and a flood gate that prevented access to aquatic habitat in an adjacent slough, enhancement of the natural foreshore through planting of additional native riparian vegetation, and elimination of the flow of contaminated parking lot run-off into the Fraser River.
Description of how the project meets Green Shores principles
> Maintained/ Enhanced Habitat Function and Diversity
- Shoreline habitat and diversity were enhanced through planting of native vegetation within a significantly enlarged riparian area. Overhanging vegetation and improved habitat for small amphibians and insects will support other populations such as migrating birds.
> Preserved/Restored Shoreline Physical Processes
- The Oxford Riverbend Business Park was developed along the north arm of the Fraser River in a manner that retained and improved local intertidal habitat without further impacting regional fluvial geomorphic processes.
- The physical movement of water and sediments were restored along more than 1,000 metres of shoreline adjacent to the Fraser River and the connecting Sturgeon Slough. This was done through extraction and remediation of contaminated soils and fill, replacement of old asphalt and debris from former industrial uses along the river with native plants, natural cobble and small boulders. It also included removing the dilapidated tide gate from the mouth of Sturgeon Slough to allow for a free exchange of intertidal water and fish within the slough.
- The floodplain location did require flood protection, but an innovative alternative dike design was developed to allow the flood protection works to be set back from the Fraser River and Sturgeon Slough, thus supporting natural riparian function.
> Ecological Services Provided
- The removal of the flood gates at the entrance to the Sturgeon Slough now allows access to valuable sensitive off‑channel aquatic habitat for Fraser River fish.
- The riparian buffer was increased from the required 5-metre width to 30 metres, within which 25 metres were planted with native shrub and tree vegetation.
> Shoreline Collaboration, Public Information and Education
- Oxford Properties developed a walkway that provides visual access to the Fraser River and physical access to a nearby Nature Park. Educational signage along the walkway is being used to promote awareness about climate change adaptation and intertidal ecological processes.
> Additional Notes
- The entire site of the business park was raised to a flood construction level that accounts for future sea-level rise due to climate change.
- The site was designed such that no new development impacted the shoreline zone.
- Prevention of pollutants entering the Fraser River was managed by applying effective wastewater treatment systems that treat parking lot runoff before it is discharged to the Fraser River.
