Surrey council will consider approving the transfer of 18.945 acres (7.667 hectares) of land in Fraser Heights from the Nature Conservancy of Canada to the city for parks and conservation, at no cost to Surrey, during Monday's council meeting.
The land is adjacent to undeveloped, treed parkland already owned by Surrey and is located at 17055, 17122 and 17174-106 Avenue as well as 17215-104 Avenue, with the latter being the lone property with roadway frontage.
A corporate report coming before council, from Surrey's manager of corporate services Joey Brar and Laurie Cavan, manager of parks, recreation and culture, notes that an an NCC-commissioned independent appraiser estimated their combined market value $380,000, "which reflects their environmental constraints due to conservation covenants and watercourse impacts."
Brar and Cavan note the properties are surrounded by parkland that are in in a "similar undeveloped state," making them well-suited to be added to Surrey's inventory of natural parklands.
The private, non-profit Nature Conservancy of Canada donated three of the properties in 2003 to the Land Conservancy of British Columbia and the fourth in 2002. Their ownership was transferred back to the NCC in 2015 on account of organization restructuring.
Cavan and Brar explain in their report that the Ecological Gifts Program administered by Environment and Climate Change Canada, provides income tax incentives "to encourage the donation of ecologically sensitive lands and ensures their protection in perpetuity."
Currently, the subject properties' zoning is a mix of one-acre residential zone, industrial park zone two and are a designated mix of suburban and industrial in the Official Community Plan, "encumbered by a Canada Lands Conservancy Covenant, which restricts subdivision and use of the properties.
"The highest and best use of the subject properties is passive park/conservation purposes," the authors of the corporate report maintain. "Upon transfer, the City will assume perpetual stewardship and management of the subject properties in accordance with the City’s Natural Areas Management Plan which includes guidance on management of vegetation, access (trails), wildlife, yard waste and trees."
Moreover, they report that annual operating costs for this land is expected "to be minimal as there is currently no public access and minimal interface with open roadways."
