Further steps have been taken to ensure the Conservancy’s newly acquired lands at Cape Roger Curtis are protected for the foreseeable future.
The municipality (BIM) entered into a covenant with the Bowen Island Conservancy, who purchased 65 hectares of Cape land from Metro Vancouver in October. The $30.5 million sale included 16 of the 24 lots Metro originally purchased from the Cape on Bowen, with the intention to turn the area into a park and campground.
Now, future development is firmly off the table as the covenant places tight restrictions on what can be done with the land. This includes all structures and dwellings, aside from those designed to encourage responsible use of the space by the public such as boardwalks and toilets. It also establishes guidelines protecting trees and vegetation, and prohibits pesticide use and soil disturbance.
The covenant follows those already in place between the two partners at the Wild Coast Nature Refuge (which now borders the Conservancy’s Cape lands) and at the Armstrong Lands located south of Dorman Road, across the street from Crippen Park. The agreement also fulfills a condition of the Memorandum of Understanding the Conservancy and BIM signed in 2023 for the municipality to assist with establishing and enforcing covenants.
The covenant also aims to assist the Conservancy with reducing the assessed value of the land in the eyes of BC Assessment. Since BIM has already designated the lands as having tax exempt status this will have no effect on potential revenue collected by the municipality.
