Skip to content

Richmond farmland swapping floated by local development consultant

Coun. Harold Steves says proposals like Southlands are the beginning of the end to protecting farmland

Bob Ransford, an urban planning and development consultant, is suggesting the City of Richmond develop a large swath of agricultural land south of Steveston Highway, in a deal similar to the Southlands development in South Delta.

But such a proposition is highly contentious.

The idea of allowing some development on privately-owned agricultural land in exchange for the rest falling under control of the public was successfully executed last year when Metro Vancouver — to much public opposition — allowed 950 homes to be developed on the Spetifore Farm in Tsawwassen in exchange for 80 per cent of the 537-acre lot being put in the public trust, for community and conventional farming.

 “The City of Richmond could easily embrace this organic growth containment mechanism that activates farmland being held for speculation. The Gilmore Estates land, the 300-plus acres south of Steveston Highway, would be the ideal lands to secure by allowing limited development on the riverfront portion of these lands south of the railway line in return for the balance of the land being transferred to public ownership,” wrote Ransford to the Richmond News.

Ransford
Steveston resident and development consultant Bob Ransford

The concept of land swapping also has the support of Dr. Kent Mullinix, director of the Institute of Sustainable Farming at Kwantlen Polytechnic University.

“The idea of controlling development on the Agricultural Land Reserve-urban interface and taxing what is allowed to be developed heavily would be simultaneously a tremendous deterrent to speculation, eliminate the wild west land grab mentality, support smart growth and provide land and capital for farming and food,” said Mullinix.

The concept is highly controversial, especially granted Mullinix’ department wrote a paper on the issue that was paid for and used by the developer of Southlands, Century Group, a former employer of Ransford.

The $50,000 payment to KPU, Mullinix charges, was entirely independent of his research. Mullinix said the purpose of his work was to research the merits of community agriculture and farming in the area.

“Century Group wanted to propose agriculture and that’s why they went to KPU,” said Mullinix, who added the only way Gilmore Estates should be developed in such a manner is if some of the land is unfarmable.

He added, he wants to connect farmers to the community and a plan like Southlands can do that.

Coun. Harold Steves said such ideas reward landowners for not farming their land.

“Bob Ransford was the ‘genius’ behind the development of the Spetifore Farm in Delta. I warned directors at Metro Vancouver last year that supporting the Spetifore development would set a precedent and developers would be back for more. What took him so long?” said Steves.

“Had Metro held the line the land would still be in agriculture,” he said.

The line he is referring to is the stance to not allow any development on ALR land.

Mullinix said "one size fits all solutions are not working" as he believes ALR land is already being eroded.

"(Southlands) could be one tool in the tool box," to protect farmland, he said.

Steves reiterated that if such ideas do come to fruition, roughly one-third of all protected arable land in the Lower Mainland could be destroyed.

@WestcoastWood

gwood@richmond-news.com