House size limit irks land reserve farmers

A newly-formed association of B.C. farm owners gathered Sunday to voice its displeasure with the provincial government’s proposal to restrict house sizes on properties in the Agricultural Land Reserve.

The B.C. Farmland Owners Association said Bill 52, the provincial government’s amendment to the Agricultural Land Commission Act, was made with inadequate consultation with farm owners and will negatively affect them.

“There was a lack of consultation on this,” spokesman Gunraj Gill said after a town hall meeting at a Surrey banquet hall on Sunday, with several NDP and Opposition MLAs in attendance.

“It’s not even about wanting a specific house size — this whole process has been rushed. If the house sizes needs to be reduced, it needs to be a number that is decided with farmers at the table.”

The provincial government tabled the bill earlier this month, which includes capping the size of new homes on farm land to 5,400 square feet.

Gill said the association, which is made up of about 350 farming families who collectively own about 15,000 acres of farm land, wants the bill amended to ensure anyone who had applied for permits is grandfathered in.

Kevin Buttar, a Surrey farmer who spoke at the meeting, said he and his family have spent $200,000 over the last nine months to prepare to build a 6,200-square-foot home for their multi-generational family. He said he was “blindsided” by the government legislation.

NDP MLA Jagrup Brar, who represents Surrey-Fleetwood, had told attendees that applicants with existing permits will be grandfathered in, said Buttar.