The Vancouver suburb of Richmond has agreed to buy a property in the provincial agricultural preserve from a native band and a federal Crown corporation for five times its assessed value.
The city council made the purchase to stop a high-density development on land that has been used for decades for berry picking and hiking.
The unusually high price may reflect in part a widespread feeling that the municipal council should be as fair as possible in its negotiations with the Musqueam, Jim Wright, spokesman for the Garden City Lands Coalition Society and a strong advocate for the buyout, said yesterday in an interview.
"A lot of people feel very strongly [about]the first nations," he said. "I'm not talking for or against that. I'm just saying that that public way of thinking has an effect on price, just from a business standpoint."
An antagonistic debate at city council over the purchase may have also contributed to boosting the price, he said. A councillor who had supported the high-density development on the land argued that, if the city decided to buy the property, it should pay a price comparable to nearby commercial properties. "The divisions at Richmond council may have made it more difficult to bargain effectively," he said.
On Monday, Richmond City Council approved a budget provision to pay $59.17-million for the so-called Garden City lands, a 55.17-hectare area in central Richmond dubbed the city's Stanley Park. The current assessed value of the property at $13-million is based on a market value of comparable farmland properties over the previous three years.
Richmond has been grappling with the Garden City lands for years. Canada Lands Co., a federal Crown corporation, holds title to the property but the Musqueam Indian band claims the area as part of its ancestral lands. It proposed a multimillion-dollar residential and commercial development and offered some land to Richmond if the property was taken out of the provincial agricultural reserve and rezoned.
The municipal council initially supported the development, but as local opposition to development on farmland grew, several councillors shifted positions. Also, the Provincial Agricultural Land Commission refused to allow the farmland to be taken out of the provincial reserve for development.
Negotiations to buy the property remain confidential. Mr. Wright said he figured out from discussions with a number of people that attitudes to negotiations with natives were among the factors affecting the final price. He was concerned that the price could spark a flurry of speculation in properties in the agricultural land reserves, he added.
Richmond Councillor Greg Halsey-Brandt said the price was "ridiculous," especially since the city did not have plans for how the land will be used. He would like to see a referendum in the city on whether the land should be left wild or should be developed for playgrounds and other community facilities.
Mayor Malcolm Brodie said the purchase of the farmland was good for the city but he also did not support the offer of $59-million. The majority of council, however, backed the deal. Councillor Bill McNulty was a strong defender of the offer.
The price was considerably lower than what the city has paid recently to acquire land for parks in residential neighbourhoods, he said. He dismissed the suggestion that the price had been affected by attitudes to native bands.
The city came up with the offer of $59-million, and the Musqueam and Crown corporation accepted their first offer, he added. "This is a fair deal. We're happy and they're happy the agreement was made," he said.