Vancouver Sun
The City of Richmond’s bid to stop Port Metro Vancouver from buying more Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) property for redevelopment will further erode the region’s ability to expand its industrial space, say local commercial real estate brokers.
Last Friday, the Union of B.C. Municipalities approved a motion at its annual convention brought forth by Richmond asking for support to call for federal regulatory changes to block the port from buying ALR land. …
Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie said his city cannot afford to lose its farmland.
“We believe we have the right (land use) balance,” he said last week. “For an unaccountable organization like the port … to go in to purchase agricultural land with obvious intentions to make it into industrial land in the future is totally unacceptable.”
He said Richmond’s farmland is “irreplaceable” and the port and other industrialists should be seeking industrial land that already exists in the market. …