Farmland under increased pressure from commercial interests

Threats against Metro Vancouver’s agricultural land reserve are growing, with winery restaurants joining mega homes, truck parking and port expansion on the list of potential pressures.

The Agricultural Land Commission is questioning whether it’s appropriate to allow nonfarm use of Metro’s agricultural land, noting the primary use of the land — growing and producing crops — could end up taking a back seat as more farmland is swallowed up for other purposes. “We’re trying to spend more time and effort working with the regional district and [ individual] municipalities to try to encourage local government to plan appropriately for agriculture,” executive director Brian Underhill said.

The commission is in the midst of considering a request by Richmond’s Lulu Island winery to add a 3,500- squarefoot restaurant on its land in the Agricultural Land Reserve.

Underhill said a main focus is to weigh the long- term effect of a restaurant, noting it would increase the winery’s footprint in terms of the building and additional parking.

Harold Steves, a Richmond city councillor and farmer, who opposed the Lulu Island application that was approved by Richmond’s council, said the winery already has enough space for a banquet hall.

“The farmers are concerned; they don’t want restaurants in the middle of the Agricultural Land Reserve,” Steves said, noting a restaurant would bring in too many non- farm people. “We’ve got lots of restaurants in Richmond, we don’t need them in the ALR.”

Steves noted Metro Vancouver is also facing threats from Port Metro Vancouver, which is buying up farmland and expanding, and landowners building mega homes on ALR properties.

The province has already set new guidelines for house sizes, residential footprints and locations for all properties in the ALR, but the measures are voluntary. Only Delta and Langley Township have compulsory zoning restrictions in place for their municipalities.

The Metro board is expected next week to vote on whether to ask the province to pass legislation to mandate the guidelines for Metro Vancouver. Steves noted government has refused to make them compulsory for all of B. C. because the farming circumstances are different across the province.