Re: "Development of Ioco lands on city's radar," Friday, Nov. 16.

By coincidence, the City of Port Moody is looking to hire a manager of sustainability at the same time the 650-acre Ioco industrial site has been designated a "special study area" for redevelopment.

How might this south-sloping land be re-used to make the city more sustainable? One option might be to remediate the land for intensive organic agriculture. The owner, Devon Estates, is looking at redevelopment over 20 years. The transformation from industrial to agricultural might be accomplished by development density transfer.

Residential and commercial developers in central Port Moody would be able to add density by buying it from Devon Estates. The land area "purchased" at Ioco would become public land.

Gradually, over 20 years, the Ioco property would become entirely public land; Devon Estates would receive fair compensation, and higher transit-friendly densities would be provided in central Port Moody. The leasing of the Ioco property for agricultural use would replace greenhouse gas emissions from importing food, and would capture carbon in the plants and green manures grown on the land.

This sustainable use would avoid the costly extension of water, sewer and road services to this remote property, and the traffic congestion from conventional residential development. I look forward to this "special study area" making Port Moody a more sustainable city.

D. Wilson Port Moody