Development slated in one of Vancouver’s most beautiful parks

News that part of the Pacific Spirit Park is slated for residential development is bringing protesters and speakers out to voice their strong opposition. Protesters will gather at the Pacific Park office today at noon.

Last month the provincial government reached a deal with the Musqueam Band that hands over a parcel of the park that is zoned for townhouse and condominium development. That agreement was the result of negotiations over ownership of the University Golf Course, which will remain public. Metro Vancouver directors are also opposed to the agreement, saying all civic parks are now at risk to similar deals. The deal was reached at the beginning of November, when the Musqueam First Nation band received the 50-hectare University Golf course located on the UBC endowment lands, millions of dollars and over two parcels of land consisting of over 50 hectares of Pacific Spirit Park. In return, the Musqueam have agreed to keep the course open for up to 40 years.

Bob Hindmarsh, a member of the group Save the Course, is disappointed, wanting the course to be completely out of the deal. Shelagh Dodd, of Friends of Pacific Spirit Park, wants to see the entire park preserved as an ecological whole for all British Columbians.