Nanaimo council has ruled out building affordable housing on a five-acre farm in Harewood it bought four years ago, voting to keep it for agriculture and recreational use, along with wetland preservation.
A staff report put five options before council at its Dec. 18 meeting, including four that included some level of affordable housing as well as farming, but the majority of council members chose a fifth option with no housing
Coun. Erin Hemmens said that at an open house looking at possible uses for the five acres at 933 Park Ave., she heard “overwhelming support” for retaining the land as green space.
“I’ve spoken with a lot of folks on this and I think the magic of the five-acre farm parcel in Harewood is real and I’m happy with going with the community’s voice on this one.”
Mayor Leonard Krog said the deciding factor for him was the fact that “we are not going to be creating any more green space within the boundaries of the City of Nanaimo.”
Coun. Ian Thorpe voted against the motion, however, saying he could support an option that included housing.
“To simply save it as-is because historically it was a five-acre lot for farming doesn’t sway me.”
Nanaimo bought the property in 2019 with the idea of using two acres for affordable housing and the rest of the property for recreation, environmental protection and growing food.
The Nanaimo Foodshare Society has a licence running to the end of this year to use part of the site for education, a community garden and an urban farm. It’s allowed it to run a farm stand selling food and produce and to conduct tours. The licence includes the option to extend it for another year.
A house on the property is leased out until March.
