A non-profit specializing in habitat preservation wants to protect plains in Nanaimo’s south end where the city’s official flower grows.
The Nanaimo and Area Land Trust says Harewood Plains, in the Harewood Mines Road and Nanaimo Parkway area, is replete with vegetation, including Nanaimo’s floral emblem the lotus pinnatus, as well as coastal Douglas fir woodlands and Garry oak.
A subdivision application was submitted on April 18 for 103 Lotus Pinnatus Way. Two city parks abut the 36-hectare property and the east end of the land has 10.5ha protected via a conservation land covenant.
Dean Gaudry, NALT co-chairperson, told the News Bulletin development would harm the area’s hydrology. The site has a unique feature, vernal pools, very rare in Canada, he said.
“There’s a hard surface and there’s virtually no soil on the land, but it’s hard sandstone and rock combined and that drains off [into] these vernal pools, and that’s what creates the right mix for for these wildflowers,” said Gaudry.
The asking price for the land is close to $13 million, he said, and NALT is searching for partners, pointing to previous partnerships with the city for Linley Valley-Cottle Lake Park and Regional District of Nanaimo for Mount Benson Regional Park. The B.C. government is also being approached.
“The price per acre is quite high and it’s just a question of what the sale price would actually be,” said Gaudry. “We’re trying to get the funds together to do an appraisal … we’ve raised funds before, not on the scale that this park would be, but it’s just too important to let it be destroyed by the kind of development that they’re talking about with this property.”
In an e-mail, the city said it is not able to say who the applicant is at this time. While the application was received in April, further information was needed and it was deemed complete Tuesday, June 27. The city said a detailed review can now begin, including referral to all relevant “internal departments and external agencies.”
“There are a number of restrictions around this property including, but not limited to, environmental protection that will need to be considered as part of any development of the land,” the city said.
The statement from the city added that any application for the property would have to meet guidelines around environmentally sensitive areas, hazardous slopes, wildfire hazard, steep slope development and Nanaimo Parkway design.
“The requirements of these guidelines include the submission of a number of reports from qualified professionals (i.e. environmental assessment, geotechnical report, and wildfire interface assessment, among others), as well as the adherence to any recommendations provided in those reports,” the city said.
The city said it is expecting to post more information this week, including a proposed plan for the subdivision.
For more information, visit www.nalt.bc.ca and www.nanaimo.ca/whatsbuilding/Folder/SUB01488.
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karl.yu@nanaimobulletin.com
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