City moves to cap number of field hands living on farm

Regulations proposed for accommodation of foreign farm workers, who last year numbered almost 2,800 in Okanagan

No more than 40 Mexicans or Jamaicans could be housed on a Kelowna farm under proposed rules going to city council today.

A farmer who brings in more than 40 foreign workers should have to find accommodation for them in urban areas or make a site-specific rezoning request, city staff say.

Currently, there is no limit on the number of field hands who can live on agricultural properties in farm worker housing.

The proposed cap of 40 workers is similar to limits in other B.C. farming communities, such as Delta, Langley and Pitt Meadows, Kelowna city staff say.

The limit is not expected to have wide impact, staff say, since only seven Kelowna farmers last year brought in more than 40 foreign workers.

Almost 2,800 Jamaicans and Mexicans were employed on Okanagan farms last year under the federal Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program.

Of the Okanagan farms that participated in the program in 2016, more than 95 per cent brought in fewer than 40 foreign workers.

Under provincial law, Kelowna cannot refuse to let farmers build on-site housing for field hands.

Municipalities can, however, create rules for where such dwellings can be placed, set limits on their size, require landscaping to limit their impact on surrounding properties and impose other regulations.

Another revision to the temporary farm worker housing policy going to council today eliminates the March 1 to Oct. 31 occupancy restriction.

Instead, the revised policy sets a maximum occupancy of eight months “during the farm’s growing, harvesting and pruning periods.” This is intended to give farmers more flexibility while ensuring the dwellings are not used yearround.

Under the revision, farmers would have to make an “annual statutory declaration” as to when and for how long the housing structures will be used.

And the amount of land that can be used for worker housing has been slightly reduced, to 0.2 hectares from 0.25 ha.

Overall, staff say, the policy is intended to allow farmers to provide for worker housing in a way that least impacts agriculture.

Daily Courier file photo No more than 40 foreign workers could be housed on a Kelowna farm under proposed rules to be considered today by Kelowna city council.