WHEREAS the BC Government has instituted the Agricultural Land Reserve in 1973 to protect the most valuable agricultural lands in the province from development; AND WHEREAS municipalities and regional districts are continuing to grow and are having difficulties with smart development because of the agricultural land restrictions; AND WHEREAS the Province has jurisdiction over regional districts and municipalities with regards to land in the Agricultural Land Reserve: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Union of British Columbia Municipalities lobby the provincial government for a review with consultation from local government of the Agricultural Land Reserve boundaries to ensure they accurately capture agricultural land.
Agricultural Land Commission The Agricultural Land Reserve ALR is a provincial land use zone in favour of agriculture administered by the Agricultural Land Commission ALC. The ALR is primarily intended to preserve BCs limited agricultural land base for food production and to provide land use certainty to encourage agricultural businesses. The purposes of the ALC are to preserve agricultural land, to encourage farming and to work with local governments and First Nations at a planning level to enable and accommodate farm use of agricultural land. In a recent service plan the ALC recognized that the ALR should be based on agricultural land capability and suitability for a diverse range of agricultural products. In certain areas of the province the ALC believes it would be a useful exercise to work with local governments in reviewing the ALR boundary to ensure it reflects lands that are both capable and suitable for agriculture. The ALC is particularly interested in several northern and eastern communities. The ALC is currently engaged in a joint ALR review of the Elk Valley with the Regional District of East Kootenay.