Hundreds of acres of prime farmland in South Delta are still threatened by industrial land speculation, according to MLA Vicki Huntington.
The second-term independent for Delta South revealed this week that option deals made for a large area within the Agricultural Land Reserve have again been renewed, leaving the possibility open for those properties to be converted into warehousing and logistics to serve port expansion.
It was three years ago when Huntington first revealed that Vancouver industrial developer Ron Emerson, of Emerson Group Realty, had options to purchase 739 acres for nearly $100 million. Emerson's plans, she noted, included removing the land from the ALR to develop a large intermodal yard and up to five million square feet of warehouse space.
"Although many of these options have been renewed since 2012, it was a relief to see that they were set to expire in 2014," Huntington said this week. "Unfortunately, as of December, most have been extended once again to 2016. The vision of trucks, trains and warehouses on the ALR remains firmly fixed in the developer's mind."
As a federal body, Port Metro Vancouver is able to purchase land in the ALR for non-farm uses, Huntington warned.
"I can see a scenario where the port secures Emerson's land, and then suddenly an intermodal yard on the ALR pops up to fuel the port's expansion plans - with no reference to the public, the municipality or the Agricultural Land Commission. It's bad enough that a developer wants to industrialize agricultural land, but to realize that the project might not even have to go through existing provincial processes protecting the ALR is truly disturbing," added Huntington.
She said she has repeatedly called on the provincial government to oppose the industrial speculation of farmland. As of this month, there are eight properties that have an active option-to-purchase agreement, totaling 417 acres, she said.
"I believe this type of land speculation hurts our community. It makes it harder for young farmers to start farming, it threatens our food security, our historic values, and it could have a significant negative impact on the survival of the Pacific Migratory Bird Flyway," said Huntington.
Emerson has previously stated that the success of the port depends on having the ability to deal with the container traffic. He also said the land in question is not of high quality for farming.
Although not commenting specifically on the optioned lands, Port Metro Vancouver president and CEO Robin Silvester recently warned there's a "serious threat" posed to the local and national economies by a shrinking industrial land base in Metro Vancouver.
Meanwhile, the port is expected to submit its formal environmental impact statement to launch a federal environmental review for the proposed Terminal 2 project at Roberts Bank.
Against Port Expansion says it will be ready for "an all-out war" if that's what it will come to in order to stop the container terminal expansion.
