ALR regulations need to evolve

They shouldn’t be seen as an open invitation to replace farms with condo complexes and gas wells, but proposed changes to the Agricultural Land Reserve recognize that not all farmland is the same. The B.C. Liberals have introduced legislation that would split the ALR into two zones: Zone 1, which would include Vancouver Island, the South Coast and the Okanagan; and Zone 2, comprising the North, Interior and Kootenay regions.

In Zone 1, the Agricultural Land Commission will continue to base its decisions on protecting farmland. In Zone 2, says acting Agriculture Minister Steve Thomson, the commission will also consider factors such as “economic, cultural and social values, as well as regional and community planning objectives.”

Critics fear changes will open farmland to development and resource extraction. Those fears should be heeded. The government has not yet spelled out what types of project denied in the past would be allowed under the new rules. That should be made clear. While flexibility in ALR rules is needed, standards should remain rigorous, and close scrutiny should be required of any land proposed for removal from the reserve.

Only five per cent of the province’s land is suitable for growing food, and that land is under constant attack. Without protection such as the ALR provides, arable land would quickly be gone — paved over, built upon, torn up.

There will always be pressure to take land out of the ALR for development. Some of the best farmland sits at the edge of cities — Victoria, Vancouver, Kelowna — so it is attractive to developers, especially if it is relatively level and close to sewer and water lines.

The ALR has been good for the province. It has protected farmland and prevented suburban sprawl across the Saanich Peninsula and in the Fraser and Okanagan valleys.

But it’s not perfect. Its rules need to evolve with the times. Some uses allowed under ALR rules are more industrial than agricultural — feedlots and composting operations, for example. They can be as damaging to the land as some developments not allowed under the rules. It was a serious mistake to allow greenhouses to sprawl across Delta, effectively paving over some of Canada’s finest agricultural land.

And how would you like to look out on a huge bunker adorning the acreage next door, surrounded by concrete and guarded by forbidding fences and security systems? Commercial marijuana operations have been deemed agricultural.

Only 10 per cent of the land protected by the ALR is in Zone 1, yet that land produces 85 per cent of farm revenues in the province. A hectare of land in the Saanich Peninsula is not the same as a hectare near Prince George, so it makes sense to adjust the rules to fit the situation.

Even with the rich soil and the congenial coastal climate, many farmers on the Island struggle to break even, let alone make a living. How can someone in the North be expected to make a living from marginal land with a growing season of a few months? If the owner of such a piece of land foresees an economic opportunity from some other use, the idea should get serious and sympathetic consideration. There is a reasonable case for removing some properties from the ALR.

That doesn’t necessarily mean every wetland and rocky patch of brush should be removed from the reserve. Those areas contribute to the environmental health of a region, providing habitat for birds, reptiles and amphibians that prey on insects, and helping to protect watersheds.

A flexible approach is welcome, but the government needs to reassure British Columbians that protecting farmland is still paramount.