We are writing to express our concerns with and opposition to a recent City of Langford decision to sell land designated as parkland and to allow development on it. Some of this land forms a buffer between long time residents on Gade Rd and the new Echo Valley development, as promised by the developer at a public hearing. This piece is steep and forested with Arbutus and Douglas fir. It is a wildlife corridor, as evidenced by the
deer trail wandering through it and provides access to a seasonal pond. A second parcel contains a neighbourhood tot lot.

The process the City is using to approve this sale is also a concern even though it complies with the rather loose provisions of the Local Government Act. Protection of forested buffer zones, especially on steep hillsides, should be a priority for Langford. Other jurisdictions like North Vancouver, Duncan and most of southern California, have experienced the dire consequences of removing too much forest cover and natural drainage/absorption areas. This parkland is within the watershed of Florence Lake and that alone should have
guaranteed its continued protection.

The City decided in July to proceed with this sale by way of the counter-petition process (LGA) and to make it two separate, city-wide issues. They created two separate bylaws so that any one opposing the sale of this parkland must gather approximately four thousand signed petitions (2,000 per bylaw), on separate sheets of paper. Delaying the announcement until late November when the weather is rotten and making it a city-wide issue, pretty well guarantees there will be no organised opposition to the bylaws and the sale will proceed. Langford uses the provisions of the Local Government Act related to local service areas when it suits its purposes (i.e., the lack of a city-wide referendum to borrow $25 million for the ill-fated Spencer Rd. interchange). However, when it comes to a couple of local parks that affect the immediate neighbourhood the most; the City has opted to proceed with the process most likely to squelch any opposition. The City must be desperate for funds if it needs to ram through the sale of our neighbourhood parks in such a dictatorial fashion.

It is no doubt a coincidence that these two parks are located in the Florence Lake area, that hotbed of environmental activism in Langford. Regrettably, this has happened before. A parcel of dedicated Garry Oak meadow parkland from the COSTCO development was sold for the hotel site; and another local park was clearcut and turned into a sewer pumping station for the Bear Mt resort. There aren’t a lot of natural areas left so we urge the City to reconsider their decision and preserve this land for our future generations.