When you walk into Salsbury Garden, the first thing you notice is the quiet. Surrounded by trees-cypress, Norwegian maple, and mountain ash, to name a few-some a century old, the property is buffered against the buzz of Commercial Drive, a block to the west. This time of year, there's an earthy smell to the space as the scent of the garden's jasmine, forsythias, camellias, and rose bushes gives way to one of fallen leaves and damp evergreen boughs. A tiny cob house-built with clay, sand, and straw by more than 70 volunteers-rests in the corner of the yard. At the entrance to the garden, two 100-year-old workers' cottages sit side by side.

Located at the southwest corner of Salsbury Drive and Napier Street, the garden has been used by thousands of locals, from school groups that come to learn about earthen construction to neighbours who plant vegetables and drop off their compost. Some come to socialize at regular community gatherings, while others drop by during the day to simply sit in quiet contemplation.

"Over the years, I've met many of the people who have been through the garden, and I have come to realize that it means a lot to a lot of people," said Ian Marcuse, a master's student in UBC's school of community and regional planning and a 15-year renter of the home that's next to the garden. "It's not a large space by any means, but it's unique. And it has a quality that people really connect to. It's like a sanctuary."

In all respects, it acts like a public park. The problem is, it's not one. Last fall, the property's long-time owner sold the site to Niebuhr Construction, a Ladner-based company that's run by two brothers, Jim and Richard Niebuhr, who recognized the site's development potential and planned to replace what's there with two duplexes. Now Marcuse and a group of community activists, the Friends of Salsbury Garden, are doing everything they can to turn the space public.

"We sent out an urgent e-mail to city councillors and the park board and anybody we could think of," fellow resident Sharon Kravitz said. "The city knows that we need to have a balance of density and green space. And we're just getting too dense, in many ways."

The politicians agreed. With the approval of city council, the park board has made two offers to purchase the property from Niebuhr Construction. To the disappointment of board commissioner Heather Deal, both were rejected.

"It's a very good offer, and it's an offer that we think should be taken seriously," Deal said in a phone interview. The board is especially interested in the property because the neighbourhood is "park-deficient", she added, and because it's already an established green space. "We also see the cob house as a huge asset. And with the space that the houses are currently on as well, it makes a really nice-size block park. But once it's built up, getting that land back is next to impossible. It just doesn't happen."

At the same time that the park board was negotiating with the developers, the Friends of Salsbury Garden were launching a campaign of their own. Having collected 1,600 names on a petition as well as official support of 25 different community organizations and area MPs and MLAs, the group appealed Niebuhr's development plans to the city's board of variance, a move that Marcuse said was their "last kick at the can". To the amazement of the activists, who had been told by city officials that a win was, at best, a long shot, the board ruled in their favour at its August 24 meeting.

For the Niebuhr brothers, too, the loss came as a surprise. According to Jim Niebuhr, the company had jumped through all of the municipal hoops and all aspects of their plans had been approved by city planners. (Niebuhr said it's still "a little unclear".)

In the meantime, the new owners have handed eviction notices to Marcuse and the other renters, citing plans to renovate the existing homes. They have also ordered the residents to remove the cob house because of liability concerns. (Deal said the park board has no concerns about it.) Although Jim Niebuhr understands the community's desire for green spaces, he said that's simply not his business.

"I like parks too. And if I could get a park beside my house, that would be great. But unfortunately, we're in the business of building homes. The city should have purchased the property years ago if they wanted a park there," he said in a telephone interview. Niebuhr refused to disclose whether or not the company is still thinking about selling the property if the city increases its offer, saying, "We're looking at all of our options."

City councillor and mayoral candidate Jim Green said that retaining green spaces in this real-estate climate-and especially in red-hot areas such as Commercial Drive-has become especially difficult because the city must stay within fixed budgets while property values skyrocket. Even for plum properties, officials cannot offer much more than market value, he added, because that would set a dangerous precedent for negotiations with developers in the future.

"We've tried to use the persuasion of our staff”¦to try and come up with a deal. But sometimes it just doesn't work," said Green, who was instrumental in saving the Downtown Eastside's Crab Park from development in the mid-1980s. Even though they're small, he said, parks such as Salsbury Garden are crucial to the development of livable neighbourhoods. "I think this park has a lot of community value, and the fact that it has been created organically by the people there gives it even more value. Those are kind of intangible things, but they are exactly the things that build great communities and, therefore, build great cities."

Back in the garden, Marcuse greeted the small groups of visitors who wandered through on a sunny Saturday. A young couple Marcuse said he has never met sat at the picnic table, chatting and drawing in their sketchbooks. Everyone asked about the status of the property. Marcuse explained that the Friends of Salsbury Garden are still exploring every possible option to save the site from development and are hoping that the Niebuhrs will reconsider the city's offer to reenter negotiations.

"It's not an antidevelopment thing," Marcuse said. "I know we need to densify and we need growth. But it's a matter of good and bad development. I think good development respects these unique spaces and bad development simply disregards it. There are plenty of lots around here. Go ahead, put up a condo or a co-op. But there are certain spaces that aren't replaceable. And maybe it sounds romantic, but surely we have the capacity to build big cities and still revere these special spaces."