Central Saanich farm sparks outcry over building waste

Neighbours of Stanhope Dairy Farm in Central Saanich say that while odour issues have settled down, they are concerned about the amount of construction waste that they say is being brought to the site, processed and sold.

Stanhope lawyer Lindsay LeBlanc said all such material is used for farm purposes, with wood, for example, being chipped and used for animal bedding.

“The only thing brought on the property is an input for animal bedding,” LeBlanc said. “Bedding is required for the 300 cows.”

But Dolores Bell said the Tanner Ridge, Martindale and Hunt Valley Coalition, representing about 1,000 people, has questions about the farm and its activities.

“It’s the whole issue of what are we doing to farmland and where are the regulatory agencies on this,” she said.

Members of the coalition have also expressed concern about the quantity and quality of fill they say has been used on the farm.

Stanhope’s Rod Rendle said there is nothing unusual going on at the Old East Road property. “We’re just farming.” The Capital Regional District received about 1,400 odour complaints between April 1 and Sept. 12, 2013, when food scraps were being composted on the Stanhope property.

The farm’s licence to compost scraps was suspended that year, and Bell said smell problems have “greatly abated.”

“The smell is a really minor part of this now.”

The District of Central Saanich has other concerns about composting on the property.

Central Saanich chief administrative officer Patrick Robins said the municipality and the farm are involved in a lawsuit that is scheduled to go to a hearing in February 2017.

At issue is bylaw enforcement, said Central Saanich Mayor Ryan Windsor.

“We’re taking action because we believe that they’re not in compliance,” he said.

Windsor said a bylaw restricts what can be sold from Central Saanich farms.

“The municipal bylaw — which a number of years ago was considered for a change — actually prohibits the sale of any material that’s deemed compost, if you will, or topsoil-related from land within Central Saanich.”

In court documents, Stanhope says it has used the compost on its fields and as animal bedding, and that none has been moved, transported or sold from the property.

Municipal staff keep an eye on the situation, Robins said.

“We do continually monitor through the municipality and we are in continuous receipt of observations and complaints by members in the community,” he said.

“We certainly receive complaints with regard to activity on the property.”

The Agricultural Land Commission, the provincial body tasked with preserving agricultural land and enabling farming, is aware of the farm, said chief executive Kim Grout. “There have been some complaints from residents in the area,” she said. “I know our compliance staff have followed up.”

Grout said she has not been advised of any violations.

She said she has also heard complaints about traffic around Stanhope, but said that is something for the municipality to deal with.

Ray Baker, who lives next door to the farm, said local residents have been emailing the ALC, and trying to find out exactly what can be brought onto the property and what is allowed to be removed.

“We just can’t get an answer,” he said.

In a letter to the ALC, the coalition said “non-farm commercial activity” has been going on for years.

“We urge you to consider what’s best for the land and then act accordingly.”