It’s great, of course, that six of the nine Richmond council members voted on Monday to let the Garden City lands purchase agreement expire at the end of 2008. And it’s great that the application to exclude the lands from the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) will fail too.
But the surprise that gave me hope at that meeting was Coun. Bill McNulty’s assertive action to put the city back in the hands of the council the Richmond citizens elected.
The proposals before council involved city deals with Canada Lands Company and the Musqueam Indian Band on one front and seemingly the Agricultural Land Commission on another. Incredibly, councillors had been kept in the dark that negotiations were even underway. Presumably they were conducted by city staff under a Canada Lands fellow who was the application project manager.
The City will soon begin renegotiating to obtain the lands under the basic memorandum of understanding. Coun. McNulty insisted that the elected council will determine the city’s negotiating strategy and negotiators. When the mayor tried to refer the issue to staff, Coun. McNulty stuck to his guns.
Other councillors expressed the need for change, but Coun. McNulty stood out for his frank clarity and firm resolve.
So far, Coun. Bill McNulty, you have my 2011 vote.
