Councillors want 2,500 acres protected as parkland in West Vancouver

Two West Vancouver councillors propose to designate approximately 2,500 acres of District-owned property in Upper Lands, above the 1200-foot contour, as protected parkland. Couns. Sharon Thompson and Peter Lambur will bring forward a notice of motion for discussion at the February 12 council meeting.

The motion states that a substantial portion of the undeveloped forest lands above the 1200 ft contour is owned by the District of West Vancouver and has not yet been dedicated as a park. The ‘Upper Lands’ are considered a natural asset providing many ecosystem services to the community and form part of the district’s natural asset inventory, the councillors say in their motion. The Official Community Plan also designates the lands above the 1200 ft contour for limited use and recreation, their motion states.

Three key actions

The proposed resolution calls for three key actions:

Endorsing the proposal to protect District-owned property in the Upper Lands above the 1200-foot contour.

Direct staff to conduct a legal search to confirm land parcels under district ownership and park dedication status.

Directing staff to report back on a park dedication bylaw for adoption by the Council within 90 days.

“This addresses a long-standing District objective to “permanently protect municipally owned lands above the 1200 ft. contour line as per the Upper Lands Working Group Report. It includes one of the largest remaining areas of old-growth forest on the North Shore,” the councillors say.

The proposed park dedication also aligns with Metro Vancouver regional government objectives and the Municipal Protected Areas Project, recognizing Canada’s commitment at the 2022 UN Biodiversity Conference (COP 15) to conserve 30% of lands and oceans by 2030.