This story has been amended to add the purchase price.
Cypress Provincial Park in West Vancouver is getting about 32,200 feet bigger, at least legally speaking.
The Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy announced Monday it had purchased 0.3 hectares of land from British Pacific Properties for $60,000 to add to the 3,000-hectare park.
The land in question is largely made up of Barret’s View, also known as the Cypress Mountain Viewpoint or High View, where the province and picnickers have been squatters since the 1970s.
“The highway was built on fill at the corner and the lookout was developed and expanded along the edge of the bank over time to accommodate users,” a statement from ministry staff read. “It did not create any specific issues for the province, but once the province became aware of the trespass on private land, we worked to address it through negotiation with the property owner.”
As part of the negotiations, the province also paid $18,000 to BPP for a right of way to serve Cypress Mountain Resort’s already existing sewer line just east of the lookout.
The Barret’s View purchase was the smallest of seven land acquisitions the ministry announced Monday for the expansion of provincial parks – $2.47 million on 229 hectares in total. The province will now consult with First Nations governments about adding these lands to the parks system.
