Agricultural Land Commission Act

 

British Columbia has an abundance of fertile lands upon which to grow food, but also faces continual pressure to use these lands for commercial and residential development.  To preserve its agricultural land, and its capacity to grow food, the provincial government has placed much of the land in an ‘agricultural land reserve.’  Within the reserve, the provincial government has placed limits on how landowners can use their land, and the land can only be removed from the reserve in certain circumstances.

 

The Minister of Sustainable Resource Management administers the Act.  It can be useful for protecting watersheds because farming, done responsibly, can provide spaces for healthy streams, aquatic habitat, and water storage (for flood protection).  Current agricultural practices however, pose a serious threat to watersheds—run off from farmers’ fields (e.g. manure and pesticides) is the world’s chief source of water pollution.

 

The Act establishes the Provincial Agricultural Land Commission and gives the Commission a mandate to:

·          Preserve agricultural land,

·          Encourage farming on agricultural land in collaboration with other communities of interest, and

·          Encourage local governments, first nations, the government and its agents to enable and accommodate farm use of agricultural land and uses compatible with agriculture in their plans, bylaws and policies.

 

The Commission is organized into 6 regional panels of Commissioners who can exercise all powers of the Commission.

 

Land in the agricultural land reserve must be used for ‘farm use’ only.  The Agricultural Land Reserve Use, Subdivision and Procedure Regulation lists land use activities that are to be considered ‘farm use’ under ALCA.  A local government may only prohibit some of the listed activities (like agri-tourism activities and building aquaculture facilities) with the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries’ approval.

 

A person who wants to use the land for a ‘non-farm use’ must fall within one of the exceptions in the Act (e.g. removal of soil, or placement of fill) or first get approval from the Commission.  The Commission may delegate the power to approve non-farm use decisions to local governments and other public body or government agency like the Oil and Gas Commission.

 

The Commission can take land out of the ALR (‘exclude it’) only after respecting a public process that could involve holding a public hearing.

 

Related Guide Pages:

 

·          Agricultural Land and Soil Conservation;

·          Farm Practices Protection (Right to Farm) Act;

For more information on the Agricultural Land Commission Act:

 

·          Full text of the Agricultural Land Commission Act.

·          Full text of the Agricultural Land Reserve Use, Subdivision and Procedure Regulation.

·          Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries Factsheet: Environmental Legislation Affecting Agriculture.