Many alternatives to high-density development have been proposed. At the 2008 Garden City Lands open houses, Garden City Lands Coalition members were available at all times to listen to the visitors' ideas. The vast majority of visitors wanted to keep the Lands for purposes that can be permissible within the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR). Urban agricultural education was very popular, and a surprising number of people would be content to leave the lands the way they are. What the supportive visitors had in common was the desire to keep open green space.

Many of the open house visitors were concerned about retaining the food-growing capability for community uses. There was a general willingness to compromise on particular uses provided that the lands are kept in the ALR and not built up. The following illustration expresses the Richmond citizens' vision. It's all possible within the ALR.

The citizens’ vision map for the Garden City Lands is conceptual, and many of the features would ultimately be located in different places. For example, the main reservoir lake would be placed wherever the City engineers and agrologists choose, perhaps in the wide strip of non-bog fill in the northwest part along Alderbridge Way. Similarly, while some of the trails are in logical places, others are just where the artist happened to put them.

Note: With regard to playing fields, the Agricultural Land Commission used to give permission for a lot of sports uses, but the trend (at least since the time of the 2008 open houses) is for the commission to turn down applications for such uses. However, having the Garden City Lands as agricultural park with habitat and trails would reduce the need for that kind of park elsewhere. In that context, it can be anticipated that "Save Garden City" advocates, who certainly include many supporters of improved sports-field availability, will support improvements like new all-weather sports fields even more strongly.

Other  proposals for the future of the Garden City Lands include:

• Dr. Kent Mullinix's Kwantlen University College Urban Agriculture Education concept paper
• Michael Wolfe's wetlands habitat plan
• Garden City Gardens concepts that would be like the Van Dusen Gardens and Butchart Gardens
• Goal-based proposals focused on agri-tourism and eco-tourism
• The Richmond Poverty Response Sustainable Food Systems Park plan, illustrated below

One alternative is the Sustainable Food Systems Park

Keeping the Garden City Lands in the ALR and developing a Sustainable Food Systems Park would put the city of Richmond on the world map as a forward-thinking community that is well positioned in terms of food security. Besides attracting tourists, the park would afford opportunities for:

• Agritourism
• Learning on community farms and in community kitchens
• Business ventures for new Richmond farmers
• Garden space for Richmond residents
• A farmer’s market
• A restaurant

All farm equipment and machinery would be kept on-site, so there would be no interference with local traffic.

For more insight into the future of the Lands, visit the Garden City Lands blog.

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