Richmond Community Survey Shows Support for Garden City Lands Development
18 September 2007
Residents Would Like to See Playing Fields, Recreational and Cultural Uses on the Site
The majority of Richmond residents would like to see playing fields, recreational and cultural amenities on Garden City Lands, according to poll results being presented today to Richmond City Council's General Purposes Committee. These uses would require application to the Agricultural Land Commission to either remove the land from the Agricultural Land Reserve or obtain special approval from the Agricultural Land Commission for "non-farm use”. Most poll respondents also agreed that the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed in 2005 between the City of Richmond, Canada Lands Company and Musqueam First Nations is a "reasonable compromise" that meets community needs.
Greg Lyle, Managing Director, Innovative Research Group Inc., who conducted the survey and is presenting the results to the General Purposes Committee of Richmond City Council today comments, “The poll shows that growth is considered a fact of life for Richmond residents, but there is clearly a desire to protect green space. Seventy five per cent of residents want to make sure that green space is protected which is consistent with the most popular potential uses of the land including playing fields, community gardens and village greens”.
While a majority of poll respondents supported green space and a variety of other community uses for the property, more than half (54 per cent) said they did not believe the Garden City Lands were suitable for farming. More Richmond residents support (41 per cent) than oppose (34 per cent) the Garden City Lands proposal. Under the terms of the MOU, the land must be removed from the Agricultural Land Reserve in order to proceed with providing parkland, green space and public amenities as envisioned by the MOU partners and desired by the majority of Richmond residents.
The survey found strong support for the City’s plan to conduct full public consultations to determine how to use the City’s share of the property, and residents were supportive of the agreement when they were informed that the development plans by Canada Lands Company and Musqueam First Nation would be subject to the City of Richmond's Official Community Plan and City zoning and bylaws.
The survey was conducted by Innovative Research Group Inc. and commissioned by the MOU partners to better understand public opinion regarding the Garden City Lands tri-partite agreement and to consider those views within the context of the broader community agenda. The poll surveyed 508 Richmond residents by telephone between July 26 and July 29 of this year. Twenty-two interviews were conducted in Mandarin or Cantonese. The survey is a first step in what will be an extensive public engagement process to ensure that Richmond residents are informed and part of the decision-making process as the MOU partners move forward. There will be a series of open houses in October and other opportunities for public comment.
Innovative Research Group Inc. is a national public opinion research and strategy firm with offices in Toronto and Vancouver.
