It's lengthy, in depth and now released for all to read. It has also stirred up some questions.

The long-awaited Riverview draft heritage conservation plan has been released, detailing the historic site's heritage values and strategies available to protect them.

But big questions about the site's future remain, according to Coquitlam Coun. Craig Hodge, chair of the city's Riverview lands advisory committee.

The report is meant to help the province create a land use plan that will ultimately determine what happens with the site.

But that could take years to produce, and Riverview's aging and now vacant buildings are at risk of further degradation while the province deliberates how to proceed, Hodge said.

"The question becomes: Who is looking after the lands and what level of maintenance is going to be provided on the lands during the process?" Hodge said.

Even more concerning is that "managed decline" is actually one of 15 conservation approaches the province lists as an option to consider.

"The last one says basically, let nature take its course - let it continue to deteriorate and become sort of an archeological site," he said. "I read that and thought 'That's interesting. Stonehenge took 4,000 years to deteriorate and West Lawn, 25 years later, is on its way to the same stage.'"

Hodge refers to it as "demolition by neglect."

Other potentials include maintenance, repair, mothballing, rebuilding and replacing existing structures with replicas.

The report does not get into costs of repairs or recommendations for actions to take, though it does say that if some preservations strategies are desirable, they should start immediately.

Ultimately, council doesn't want the lands to be sold for market housing development, Hodge said.

Coincidentally, Hodge was scheduled for a meeting with Rich Coleman, minister of housing for the province, the morning after the report was released.

While he couldn't get into specifics of their conversation, Hodge came away from it with a positive tone.

"It was a very good meeting. I will say that the minister is very aware of that file," he said.

The report lays out a highly detailed chronology dating from pre-history until 2012, as well as descriptions of the natural assets and history of each building.

Twenty-four pages of the report are dedicated to identifying the significant heritage aspects of Riverview and the property, based on hundreds of interviews and questionnaires from individuals and community groups done during public consultation.

Among the more common elements in the feedback: that the 244-acre site is treasured for its natural beauty, wildlife habitat, historical architecture, history as a place of healing, as well as it's less tangible values like being a place of memories.

"That the site is a jewel, comparable to being the Stanley Park of the Tri-Cities area, but more than a Stanley Park, because it is a working landscape/ park, and the layers of history and historic buildings evoke memories of quality patient care," one section of the report notes.

The province will again take public comment on the report before the final version is prepared.

Two open houses have been scheduled, Oct. 1 and 2, at Leigh Square in Port Coquitlam and at the Centennial room in Coquitlam respectively.

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