Partial Timeline – Garden City Conservation Society

1871 – first Crown Grant for the Garden City Lands issued to William Ferris
1883 – Garden City Lands owned by Charles Wesley Sexsmith
1903 – Government of Canada buys the Garden City Lands
1904 – Department of National Defence uses the Garden City Lands as part of the Vancouver Rifle Range, also known as the Dominion Rifle Range
1905 – the Vancouver Daily Province calls Richmond “the Garden of British Columbia”
c.1909 – the Pacific Monthly identifies Richmond (Lulu Island) as “The Garden of Vancouver”
c.1928 – the Rifle Range is officially closed
1928 – Major J.S. Matthews (future City of Vancouver archivist) petitions Richmond Council to leave the Garden City Lands as a bird sanctuary
c.1949 – the Ministry of Transport sets up radio transmitters and a telecommunication workshop on the Garden City Lands for maritime use
1955 – the City of Richmond becomes actively interested in purchasing the Garden City Lands
1974 – the Garden City Lands are included in the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR)
1984 – official negotiations begin between Government of Canada and City of Richmond regarding future uses of the Garden City Lands and Richmond’s interest in acquiring them
1987 – City of Richmond attempts to buy the Garden City Lands in order to build sports facilities to support its bid to host the 1993 Canada Summer Games and 1994 Commonwealth Games (successful bidders to host the Games will be Kamloops and Victoria)
1994 – radio transmitters and telecommunication workshop removed from the Garden City Lands
2001 – Government of Canada determines the Garden City Lands are surplus to its requirements and transfers the property to the Canada Lands Company for liquidation
2005 to early 2009 – Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the City of Richmond, Canada Lands Company and the Musqueam Indian Band, to work together to share and jointly develop the Garden City Lands, 65 acres of which would have become a City of Richmond park and open space
2005 – Canada Lands Company applies to the Agricultural Land Commission to have the Garden City Lands excluded from the ALR
2006 – the application is unsuccessful
2007 – Garden City Lands Coalition was formed with a group of Richmond citizens coming together in a series of meetings in April, November, December, and January 2008 for the purpose of saving the Garden City Lands from development; Michael Wolfe leads tours on the Garden City Lands on behalf of the Garden City Lands Coalition
2008 – 5 February, Garden City Lands Coalition begins to support Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s role and is active in a series of Open Houses
2008 – 15 February, Garden City Lands Coalition is incorporated as the Garden City Lands Coalition Society, with Jim Wright as its first president
2008 – beginning in April, there is major input to the Agricultural Land Commission that the ALR offered the best benefit to the community
2008 – City of Richmond applies again to the Agricultural Land Commission to have the Garden City Lands removed from the ALR
2009 – also this second application fails
2010 – Council approves the City of Richmond’s acquisition of the Garden City Lands for community use for $59.2 million
2011 – 22 January, the International Eco-Safety Cooperative Organization (IESCO), a UN affiliate, designates Richmond as one of three cities worldwide to be given the “International Eco-Safety Demonstrative City” award, thanks to citizen leadership and participation, as represented in particular by the Garden City Lands Coalition Society and the Richmond Food Security Society
2012 – the constitution of the Garden City Lands Coalition Society is updated and its name changed to the Garden City Conservation Society
2012 – Council approves process with public engagement for developing long-term legacy plan for the Garden City Lands
2013 – Council adopts a Vision and Guiding Principles as foundation for developing Concept Plan for the Garden City Lands
2014 – Council adopts Garden City Legacy Landscape Plan for future development of the Garden City Lands
2014 – Kwantlen Polytechnic University is given 20 acres on the Garden City Lands
2016 – in June, Sharon MacGougan replaces Jim Wright as president of the Garden City Conservation Society
2017 – September 30, Harvest Fest at the Garden City Lands
2018 – Kwantlen Polytechnic University sets up a farm on the Garden City Lands as part of its sustainable agriculture programme
2018 – in August the Garden City Conservation Society and the City of Richmond place DO NOT MOW markers next to the indigenous shore pines found along the south-east edge of the Garden City Lands to give the stunted pines a chance to grow
2019 – on Earth Day, April 20, the Garden City Conservation Society and friends and neighbours of the Garden City Lands join in a ceremonial planting of three trees and five shrubs, provided by the City of Richmond, to create a bird-friendly habitat
2020 – from this year onward, the Garden City Conservation Society holds its AGM on the Garden City Lands in collaboration with Kwantlen Polytechnic University

*The timeline relating to the Garden City Lands up to 2014 is based largely on the “Historical Chronology of the Garden City Lands” in Denise Cook Design, Garden City Lands Heritage Study, December 2014, with additions from City of Richmond, Report to Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Committee, July 8, 2013, “Garden City Lands – Phase One Vision and Guiding Principles” (File 06-2345-20-GCIT1/Vol 01), p.16, and input from Jim Wright. The present version of the timeline was compiled in January 2024.