Printer-Friendly Agenda

Public Notice is hereby given of a Special Meeting of Council duly called in accordance with Section 126 of the Community Charter, to be held on:

Date:

Monday, December 17^th, 2007

Time:

4:00 p.m.

Place:

Anderson Room

Richmond City Hall

6911 No. 3 Road

Public Notice is also hereby given that this meeting may be conducted by electronic means and that the public may hear the proceedings of this meeting at the time, date and place specified above.

The purpose of the meeting is to consider the following:

CALL TO ORDER

COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE

1.

Motion to resolve into Committee of the Whole to hear delegations on the agenda item and to consider Item 3 in detail.

2.

Delegations from the floor on Agenda item.

1

3.

Garden City Lands

(Report:  December 13/07, File No.:  08-4105-04-02/2007-Vol 01) (REDMS No. 2314676)

Designated Speaker: Joe Erceg / Cecilia Achiam

STAFF RECOMMENDATION

Whereas:

(a)

the City has contemplated the acquisition of the Garden City Lands for a considerable period of time to provide public amenities;

(b)

the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat has sold and transferred title of the Garden City Lands to the Canada Lands Company (CLC) after CLC and Musqueam negotiated a Joint Venture Agreement between themselves for co-development of their portion of the site to resolve the injunction granted by the courts to the Musqueam;

(c)

the Musqueam Indian Band, the City of Richmond and Canada Lands Company have reached an agreement in the form of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), and Purchase & Sale Agreement, to enable the sharing of the lands between the three parties provided that certain conditions are met, including the removal of the land from the Agricultural Land Reserve;

(d)

the period specified in the MOU will expire on December 31, 2007, thereby requiring an extension;

(e)

the MOU and Purchase & Sale Agreement entitles the City to purchase 50% of the Garden City Land if the ALR exclusion is successful;

(f)

Council recognizes the significant opportunity for using the Garden City Lands to address community needs for both the City of Richmond and the Musqueam;

(g)

without the MOU, the City of Richmond has no legal claims to any of the Garden City Lands; and

(h)

should Musqueam gain ownership of the lands through means other than the MOU, the City may not have any regulatory control over the land use and may not be able to levy property tax.

Therefore be it resolved that:

(1)

The Mayor and City Clerk be authorized to execute an agreement to extend the Purchase and Sale Agreement for a one-year period ending December 31, 2008, to allow adequate time for the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) Exclusion Application process;

(2)

Staff submit a “Block Application” to the Agricultural Land Commission (ALC) for the exclusion of the properties known as the “Garden City Lands” bounded by Garden City Road, Alderbridge Way, No. 4 Road and Westminster Highway;

(3)

The proposed concept to create an endowment fund to provide agricultural benefits, including contribution by the City as noted in the staff report, be approved and for the proposed concept to be included in the “Block Application”; and

(4)

Council endorse Community Wellness and Enabling Healthy Lifestyles, Urban Agriculture, and Showcasing Environmental Sustainability as outlined in the staff report from the Acting Director of Development dated December 13, 2007, as the preferred uses on the City’s portion of the Garden City Lands.

5.

Motion to rise and report.

RATIFICATION OF COMMITTEE ACTION

ADJOURNMENT