Whereas the provincial Agricultural Land Commission allows an approving officer under the Land Title Act, the Local Government Act, or the Strata Property Act or a person who exercises the powers of an approving officer under any other Act to authorize or approve a plan of subdivision without the approval of the commission; And whereas notwithstanding s. 18b of the Agricultural Land Commission Act, parcels created through boundary adjustment to facilitate a residential use in accordance with the provisions as set out in s. 101c of the Agricultural Land Reserve Use, Subdivision and Procedure Regulation may negatively impact the use of the land for agricultural purposes, increase potential for ruralurban conflict, increase speculation for other uses and contribute to less acceptable land prices for agriculture; And whereas reducing the minimum parcel size to reflect local residential zone lot size restrictions for parcels created through boundary adjustment to facilitate a residential use would minimize the impact on farmland in order to protect viable, high quality, productive agricultural lands for long term agricultural use: Therefore be it resolved that s. 101c of the Agricultural Land Reserve Use, Subdivision and Procedure Regulation be amended such that the minimum parcel sizes created through boundary adjustment be reduced from no parcel in the reserve of less than one 1 hectare to no parcel in the reserve of less than one-half 0.5 hectare or smaller.
Ministry of Agriculture The Agricultural Land Commission Act Act allows for residential uses on the Agriculture Land Reserve ALR subject to local government approval. Reducing the minimum parcel size in the ALR from one hectare to one-half hectare, in order to encourage non-farm usessuch as residential constructionwould be inconsistent with the Acts over-riding principle and purpose to preserve agricultural land and ensure that farming is a number one priority. The Ministry has recently completed implementation of a series of comprehensive reforms to confirm that the Agricultural Land Commission ALC continues as an independent decision maker concerning activities on the ALR and that preservation of farming is a number one priority. These reforms include legislative amendments to protect farmland in British Columbia and strengthen the ALC as an independent decision maker concerning activities in the ALR, confirming that its number one priority remains the preservation of agricultural land while also providing an enhanced mandate for the ALC to work with communities of interest to encourage and accommodate farming and compatible uses on agricultural land.