Metro Vancouver board punts port for farmland buy
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Updated: July 04, 2009 7:41 AM
Regional politicians have voted to strongly oppose Port Metro Vancouver’s move to buy up scarce farmland for future port terminals.
The Metro Vancouver board passed a resolution June 26 objecting to the port authority’s purchase of an 80-hectare east Richmond farm that’s in the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR).
Port officials say farming will continue on the historic Gilmore Farm for now, but have confirmed they see it as an eventual site for port-related activity.
The port authority has the power to supercede both the ALR and Metro Vancouver’s Green Zone, both of which would normally block redevelopment of the farmland.
“There’s a fear on the part of the municipalities that this will be a back door approach to breaking down the Agricultural Land Reserve,” said Burnaby Mayor Derek Corrigan, who chairs Metro’s regional planning committee.
“We’re looking at a situation where any lands along the inlet or the Fraser River could be under the same kinds of pressure.”
Senior port officials have said they envision some sort of land swap that would see them add farmable land to the ALR to offset the removal of ALR land close to waterfront that it needs.
“I’m still very concerned,” Corrigan said.
He said the port’s actions send the wrong signal to the real estate market, by encouraging speculators to buy farmland based on the possibility it may be removed from the ALR.
The regional district is also expressing its concerns to the federal transportation minister.
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