WHEREAS Agricultural Land Commission Policy No. 11 deals with applications to subdivide land where the property under application has been the principal residence of the applicant as owner-occupant since December 21, 1972 and the applicant wishes to dispose of the parcel but retain a homesite on the land; AND WHEREAS each year a reduced number of farmers qualify for a homesite severance under Policy No. 11, yet there remains a notable economic and social need for long term farmers to have the ability to obtain a home site severance: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Agricultural Land Commission be requested to amend Policy No. 11 to apply where a farmer has continuously owned and occupied a property as his or her principal place of residence for a period of 20 years.
Ministry of Agriculture, Agricultural Land Commission The Agricultural Land Commissions ALC rationale for the policy was that pre-1972 landownerfarmers that were caught by restrictive zoning should warrant an opportunity to make an application for permission to remain on their land upon retirement. In contrast, it was the Commissions view that an individual who purchased Agricultural Land Reserve ALR land post-1972 did so with eyes open regarding ALR land. The option to subdivide was not intended to be maintained in perpetuity. The ALC has most recently reviewed this policy during the ALC Chairs review in 2010. The report resulting from the review, entitled Review of the ALC Moving Forward: A Strategic Vision of the ALC for Future Generations, recommended to Government that the Homesite Severance Policy be retained as written based on the belief that retaining the policy would continue to support the retirement aspirations of landowners caught by the establishment of the ALR. In Governments November 2011 response to the Chairs report, support was given to strengthen the ALC by allowing it to focus resources on encouraging farming through proactive planning and other efforts, including the maintenance of its policies that protect agricultural land. The Homesite Severance Policy has been the subject of review on a number of previous occasions. The ALC has no intention to revisit this policy at this time.