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Current Planning Projects

Garden City Lands

On March 31, 2010, the City of Richmond concluded the purchase of the Garden City Lands from the Canada Lands Company (CLC) Ltd. and Musqueam Indian Band. Richmond made a good faith offer to purchase the lands for $59.17 million which was agreed to by Musqueam and CLC.

The Garden City Lands is a 136–acre vacant property located on the eastern edge of Richmond City Centre, bordered by Garden City Road to the west, No. 4 Road to the east, Alderbridge Way to the north and Westminster Highway to the south. It is designated “Public and Open Space Use” in the Official Community Plan, is zoned AG1 (Agricultural District 1) and within the Agricultural Land Reserve.

The federal government, which has owned the land since 1903, declared it surplus and transferred ownership to the Canada Lands Company for disposal in 2002. The Canada Lands Company owns the lands and holds a 50 per cent beneficial interest in the lands in trust for the Musqueam First Nation.

In 2005, The City, Musqueam First Nation and Canada Lands Company reached an agreement to divide ownership of the property, subject to it being removed from the Agriculture Land Reserve. In terms outlined in a landmark Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), the Musqueam and the CLC would be allowed to develop their portion of the property, subject to City land use controls, while the City would be able to purchase half for parkland and other community uses.

An initial application to have the lands removed from the Agricultural Land Reserve was refused in 2006.

A block application was made by the City in April, 2008 on behalf of the three partners to the Agriculture Land Commission to remove the property from the Agricultural Land Reserve. In December 2008, City council declined to amend the exclusion application or to extend the City’s Purchase and Sale Agreement with Canada Lands and the Musqueam beyond December 31, 2008. The Agricultural Land Commission, at their meeting of February 10, 2009, refused the application as submitted.

Earlier this year, the City made its offer to purchase the property outright. The offer was accepted and the purchase concluded on March 31, 2010.

What’s Next

Council has made no decision regarding the future of the lands, beyond concluding the purchase agreement. Council will further deliberate on this topic at a future time.

The Garden City Lands remain of critical importance to the future of the community. The City is committed to seeking to ensure the long-term needs of the community are taken into consideration in any decisions that determine the ownership, control or use of the lands.

For additional information, please refer to the following links: