Food is a big issue these days - none more so than where I live in Richmond (at this very moment).
To: GCL Public Hearings, Richmond, BC
Attn: Richmond City Clerk
Re: Public hearing on the Garden City Lands, 5555 No. 4 Road, Richmond
To whom it may concern
This letter is to state my personal opposition to the City of Richmond's block application to remove the Garden City Lands from the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR).
This, I feel, is currently the preferred mechanism that will segue into the allowance of a urban agricultural space to be created - a space that can provide communal, educational, and cultural contexts so that members of the public can engage in sustainable food practices.
This opportunity is founded on the notion that taking the land out of the ALR will more likely result in the land being used for aggressive real estate development. This act, I believe, (good or bad) is one that carries with it a high degree of familiarity. As such, it also represents a direction towards the status quo, which from an environmentally responsible view is arguably uninspired. This letter therefore submits that the space could be better used. And given the central locale of this land and its amenability to agricultural practices, the letter also submits that there is a tangible prospect of making this space something Richmond, and all other involved agents, can be truly proud of - a physical area that takes issues of food security and culture to heart, being designed to engage the citizens of Richmond, the province, Canada and indeed the international community.
This letter does not suggest that such an outcome is easy - it only suggests that the opportunity to create such a legacy is there. Therefore, I implore other members of our community to think wisely before this opportunity is lost.
Yours sincerely,
David Ng
Richmond, BC.
In a way, this situation has some similarities to what the UBC Farm may be up against. If you have an opinion, and you happen to live in Richmond, BC, send your own letter to mayorandcouncillors@richmond.ca, but note that that the deadline could be as early as today at 5pm.
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To the north of those ALR lands, land owned by the city was only recently redeveloped into low density single family housing, also, to the northwest, private homes with large lots that held blueberry farms were replaced again with low density housing.
In Terra Nova, the city and province allowed Milan Ilich to take out farm land from the ALR, against the ALR board's recommendation, and to place low density housing on most of it. This land had the most productive soil in all of Canada.
Fantasy Gardens was built on ALR land.
Numerous golf courses in Richmond were built on ALR land, before that was disallowed.
The Garden city lands are almost the last stand. Developers are salivating at the opportunity, because if they go, there is no reason or hope to save the rest of it in Richmond.
Yes, no high-density building contruction on the ALR lands. It should be use as Urban Agricultural Research centre, community gardens and farms, heritage orchard, public trails and wildlife habitat. For more information please visit web of Garden City Lands Coalition www.GardenCityLands.ca