4.

Green Belt Fund

In his budget speech this month, Premier Bennett announced
establishment cf a $25 million Green 2elt Protection Fund. The
Pund will be used to buy private lands, mainiy for park purposes
(without camping), forestry reserves or rented for farming
purposes.

Certainly, the Fund is a acod one and the Government is to,
be congratulated for establishing it.

X feel strongly that the Greater Vancouver Regional District's
Park Committee should apply for assistarce from this Fund, to help
it with its progran to acquire badly-needed Bark areas. Half the

the area in which available land is most guickly vanishing. I an
certain we can make a very strong case for Governnent grants to
help us with our program.

; I an xecomiending that the Park Committee of the GVSD make
immediate application for half of the Fund, on the basis that
half the province's population lives in the region and it is also
the area of British Columbia where the aeed to preserve open areas
is most pressing.

The Fusure

While it is possible to review 1971 - and the years since
1967 - with a sense of achievement, it is well to look at the
tremendous task that still lies ahead. In land acquisition
alone we still need to obtain about 77% of the privately-owned
land covered in our parks progran.

While we might get assistance from the Government's Green
Belt Fund there is no guarantee. In an inflationary economy we
must find more revenue, even to maintain our present rate of
progress. To complete the purchase of privaze lands in the five

5.

segional parks in which we are now concentrating our efforts =
Campbell River, Tynehead, Belcarra, Aidarezreve Lake and Surnaby
Lake ~ will cost us an estizate3 $8 million. On the basis of
annual revenue currently available to us, it could take 20 vears
just to acquire the remainince land we aced@ in these five parzs.
Yet-these are only five of about £0 parks in our recional
program.

Since 1968 the property we've acquired for parks has
increased in value at a remarkable rate. ZA@ average increase
in the four years has been about 40 Percent; in one instance it
has been 75 percent.

The supply of land is limited ane it is decoming scarce,
in the Vancouver region, at an alarming rate. If we do not $ro~
vide parklands for our future generations what will they do....
where will they get the lard?

Alderman 4.8. Bird
Chairman