It was recently reported that the City of Abbotsford had turned over several hundred acres of city-owned land on Sumas Mountain to Metro Vancouver for one dollar. A copy of the notice of disposition is here.

It has also been reported that Metro Vancouver will be taking control of operations for Abbotsford's Sumas Mountain parklands within the Sumas Mountain Regional Park area (now Sumas Mountain Interregional Park), see here.

What isn't clear is why the city turned over several hundred acres of publicly-owned parcels for only one dollar, and about a dozen other questions, including: "Why is all this happening right now, especially in light of the Sumas Mountain Environmental Management Plan which has just come to our attention?"

Of equal importance are questions like:

Now that Metro Vancouver is co-responsible for running the park, who is accountable to Sumas Mountain residents when there are problems relating to the park?

Is it in the interest of Abbotsford residents to put their designated park lands on Sumas Mountain into the hands of Metro Vancouver?

Is Metro Vancouver accountable in any way to the citizens of Abbotsford?

Why would Abbotsford turn over its designated park lands to Metro Vancouver when the newspapers are reporting that Metro Van has no room left in its operating budget to even handle the parks they've already got?

Why wasn't this decision to turn over park oversight and several hundred acres of city-owned lands to Metro Vancouver open to public debate --- especially for residents of Sumas Mountain?

Didn't the city of Abbotsford request a parks masterplan from Metro Vancouver which detailed Metro Van's vision for Sumas Mountain park? If no, shouldn't they have insisted on getting that before they handed over the reigns? If yes, how come Sumas Mountain residents haven’t seen it yet?

If anyone else has questions they want added to this list, let us know.