Delta will look into ensuring Paterson Park retains public ownership after a presentation Monday night from a group hoping to see the municipality purchase the parcel.
Coun. Bruce McDonald made a motion, which was later approved, that Delta explores with Kwantlen Polytechnic University and the provincial government all options that would retain the property at the entrance to Ladner in public ownership for public purposes.
"If we don't try, we won't get there," he said.
McDonald made the motion following a presentation by members of Paterson Park for Deltans. The group also presented Delta council with a 1,200name petition asking the municipality to buy the remaining portion of the property and re-establish the Paterson Park Task Force.
Last spring Kwantlen, which owns the nearly 10acre eastern portion of the park that it acquired in 1993 from the Delta Agricultural Society, announced there is not enough demand for a new campus and that it intended to sell the property.
According to Delta chief administrative officer George Harvie, the university is still a long way from being able to sell the site, which has been assessed at around $11 million, and must receive approval from the province before it can do so.
He also stressed that Delta still has control over the property through zoning regulations.
Mayor Lois Jackson said the municipality has had several meetings with Kwantlen to discuss the future of the land but the price tag is a major obstacle to Delta purchasing the parcel.
Paterson Park for Deltans told council the group believes the time to act is now. With the provincial government's announcement that it will balance the budget through the sale of unused assets, the group believes the likelihood that Paterson Park will once again be actively marketed has increased.
The presentation also sparked more action from council - the re-establishment of the Paterson Park Task Force. The group said this move would provide an opportunity to explore the future of the park in its entirety, including the western portion, which is already owned by Delta.
