The City of Colwood is preparing to ask the province to remove roughly 85 percent of Colwood Creek Park from the Agricultural Land Reserve so it can upgrade the popular community space without breaking the rules. The 12-hectare park, which already has a playground and splash pad, sits entirely inside the ALR, a provincial zone that bans the kind of active recreation facilities residents use every day. City staff discovered the problem in 2025 while planning nearly $2 million in improvements through the 2025-2029 Capital Plan.
A recent Land Capability Assessment found the land is not suitable for large-scale farming, and the City of Colwood wants to apply to the Agricultural Land Commission for a partial exclusion. If approved, the change would allow the city to add washrooms, expand the playground, improve dog areas, install seating, and put up fencing to protect the Colwood Creek ecosystem. The eastern 1.76 hectares of the park would stay in the ALR to preserve what agricultural capability remains.
The issue reached a public hearing on June 22, 2026, but the meeting was adjourned after heated outbursts from some residents. Mayor Doug Kobayashi shut down the session, citing disruptions that kept council from doing its work. A group called the Colwood Creek Ratepayers Association has pushed back against the exclusion, worried that removing ALR protection could open the door to future development.
City officials stress that the land would remain dedicated parkland, a legal designation that cannot be changed without a referendum or broad community vote. Mayor Kobayashi says the goal is not to overhaul the park but to bring existing facilities into compliance. “We want the same things; we just want to make sure that we don’t have to tear up the stuff we have there already,” he said during recent council discussion. The city expects the Agricultural Land Commission decision to take between 60 and 90 business days once the application is submitted.
The park is Colwood’s largest developed green space, located next to Royal Roads University. Colwood Creek runs through the property, flowing from Glen Lake to Esquimalt Lagoon. The area supports Coastal Douglas Fir forest, Garry Oak meadows, and wetlands, and the creek’s watershed covers about 850 hectares.
A separate proposal for a community garden at the park recently fell through. The Colwood Garden Society had secured a $98,962 federal grant from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada for a 120-plot garden, but withdrew its plan on June 10, 2026 after failing to build enough community support. Council discussions on the ALR exclusion are scheduled to resume June 29, 2026.
