Whereas effective February 22, 2019 the Province of British Columbia amended the Agricultural Land Commission Act and created the Agricultural Land Reserve Use Regulation which implemented changes in relation to residences in the Agricultural Land Reserve; And whereas the changes limiting the total floor area of a principal residence and restricting the construction of additional residences are detrimental to farming operations and make it difficult for farm operators to operate a sustainable business by impeding succession planning, housing for family, and farm workers thereby putting the food security of our region and province at risk: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM petition the Province of British Columbia to reinstate the previous provisions of the legislation which facilitated the construction of additional dwellings for farm help, manufactured homes for immediate family members, accommodation above an existing farm building, or a second single family dwelling.
Ministry of Agriculture A key interest of the BC Government in making these changes to the Agricultural Land Commission Act the Act was to address mega mansions and expansive residential development that increase speculation and put the cost of farmland beyond the reach of many farmers. A feature of the changes to the Act is the new oversight role of the Agricultural Land Commission ALC for residential use and structures on Agricultural Land Reserve ALR land. These changes provide consistency to farm use decision making, additional oversight to the ALC and support farmers and ranchers to get the residential uses they need while protecting the agricultural land reserve for the business of farming. The ALCs mandate is to preserve farmland and to encourage farming and ranching. Additional dwellings for farm use additional residences are allowed under the changes to the Act through application to the ALC. Applications for these non-adhering residential uses must still be reviewed by local governments to determine if they fit within local government residential development rules and requirements. If the applications fit, local governments will forward the applications to the ALC for consideration. The Ministry of Agriculture and the ALC are meeting with people in communities across BC to discuss what we can do to create new economic opportunities; help new entrants get into farming and provide more flexibility for residences on the ALR. We are seeing a common interest in protecting agricultural land but with a need to provide greater clarity, and some flexibility, around economic opportunities and residences. The engagement process was open from September 19, 2019 to November 15, 2019. At the end of the public engagement period, the Ministry produced a What We Heard report that was made publicly available on January 27, 2020. The Ministry will also be advancing proposals based on the ideas coming from these sessions.