Investor
The Opportunity
This is a unique time in history as many of the big forest companies have recently announced their decision to sell vast areas of forest land throughout southwestern BC. At the same time, a number of Vancouver Island families are liquidating substantial holdings of forested land that are in close proximity to developed areas. Currently, the primary options are to sell the land to small logging contractors who will clear-cut the forest and sell the raw logs, or attempt to subdivide the land into conventional suburban lots, or both. None of the current options is sustainable. There is a series of interconnected political and economic forces converging to create a historically significant opportunity for socially responsible investors: the opportunity to build a Profitable Ecological Land Bank on Vancouver Island.
As a result of the amount of land that is either currently on the market or about to enter the market, vacant land prices are relatively low. There are also many parcels of land on the market that have been logged within the past 10 to 25 years, where the forests are growing back well and where the land sits next to streams, lakes, or other amenities. These logged properties increase the supply of raw land and may, under the right circumstances, also be suitable for the Living Forest Communities model.
On the other hand, because the rezoning and subdivision process is highly regulated and is increasingly costly, confrontational, and complex, the most significant risk faced by conventional developers is having a rezoning application rejected by the municipal authorities. The democratization of the planning process has meant that wide range of interest groups have expanded influence at public hearings and community consultation meetings. Over the past few years, the public on Vancouver Island has gained a sophisticated awareness of environmental "best practices" and are demanding that politicians either reject rezoning applications or implement sustainable development. They are demanding exactly the kind of development practices that we incorporate into each of the Living Forest Communities.
The result of this complexity and cost is that any serviced lots that become available in attractive locations are in demand and selling at a premium. After researching hundreds of properties on Vancouver Island and discussing the model with numerous elected officials, we are convinced that the Living Forest Communities model will be successful, both politically and financially. Elected officials quickly see that our model resolves a number of the dilemmas that they face when forest or farm land are targeted for conventional residential development.
Why is this Different?
In British Columbia, conventional suburban development is highly land consumptive, expensive and has a "heavy" ecological footprint. Subdivision approvals granted in rural areas by the BC Ministry of Transportation cause a fragmentation of the forest by subdividing the land into two, five or ten hectare parcels with clearings for 20m wide roads. Usually, it also means an expensive extension of community wide services such as water and sewer systems. Further, developers and owners may, at their discretion, clear a significant portion of the subdivided lots for buildings, structures, driveways and yards.The Smart Growth movement and the advocates of New Urbanism, Eco-Density and Sustainable Development all seek a common goal of reducing the ecological footprint of human settlement. For over twenty years, environmental NGOs and planners have known the "best practices". Recently, the threat of Climate Change has produced a far more urgent resolve towards changing the way that we build on this earth. Now is the time to incorporate the practices of sustainability in the forest sector that can counter the impacts of conventional suburban development.
Living Forest Communities will incorporate "best practices" into the forests by building narrow, contour hugging roads that do not require extensive blasting followed by large volume cut and fills. Wherever possible, we will limit the size and impacts of roads or bridges and utilize natural systems thinking in the provision of infrastructure and the management of storm runoff. By regenerating wetlands and streams, we can provide a valuable means for slowing down runoff, and permitting rainfall to recharge underground aquifers. In many locations, we can also improve the percolation of the soil, and enhance the many natural functions of the site by situating houses on small foundation pads or pilings rather than large concrete basements.One of the emerging sectors within Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) is that of Profitable Ecological Land Banking. Investing in Living Forest Communities is an investment in a west coast land bank that is both ecologically responsible and profitable.
