MARKET PRICE COULD BE OVER $1.5 MILLION

Whose Interest Is City Hall Looking Out For?

Giving Away Over 1 Acre For $45,000?

Nanaimo taxpayers deserve to know why public parkland was being valued as parkland when the practical value to the developer was road access for a private development.

$45K for Parkland?

Nanaimo's Latest AAP Deserves Scrutiny

It is too late to stop it, but it's not too late to call it out.

Nanaimo City Council has once again launched an Alternative Approval Process, this time seeking public consent to sell off 1.03 acres of city-owned dedicated parkland to a private developer.

Let’s be clear: this is not some forgotten greenspace being swapped for community benefit. This is public land — taxpayer-owned — and the developer wants it to punch a road through for their private gain.

Points To Ponder

Why was taxpayer-owned parkland being sold for only $45,000?
Was the land valued according to its current park designation, or according to the value it unlocked for the developer?
Should public land needed for private development access be treated as bargain-bin surplus property?
Who benefits most from this transaction — Nanaimo taxpayers or the private developer?
Should City Hall be required to provide a clearer public explanation before disposing of public assets through an AAP?

According to city documents, staff have recommended selling this land for just $45,000, claiming it reflects “fair market value” because the land is currently designated as park. But this logic is absurd.

The developer isn’t buying a park. They’re buying critical road access to unlock the full value of a large, privately owned development project. That’s not parkland pricing — that’s prime infrastructure leverage.

Here’s the reality: a 0.25-acre raw lot on Ranchview Drive — also bordering natural land — was recently listed for $425,000. That puts raw land in this area at around $1.7 million per acre. And the City is offering up over an acre of taxpayer land for $45,000?

At best, this is incompetence. At worst, it’s something far murkier.

If the City is determined to dispose of public assets, it has a duty to do so transparently and at full value — not at bargain-bin prices that raise serious questions about who benefits.

Watch this file. And remember the names behind this deal.

Bottom line: Public land should not be disposed of casually, quietly, or cheaply. When taxpayer-owned property helps unlock private development value, Nanaimo taxpayers deserve full transparency, full value, and full accountability.