Peter Waterman


Erin Carlson


Election produces council dominated by opponents of bid to swap farmland. By Judie Steeves


A


fter the votes were counted in Summerland’s civic elections in November, the message was clear: don’t mess with the Agricultural Land Reserve. Not a single council member who had voted in favour of swapping 87 hectares of ALR land near downtown for 90 hectares of inferior farm land further out earlier this year, was returned to council following the election. According to young cherry grower Erin Carlson, who mounted a campaign to ‘Stop the Swap,’ the move went against the best interests of farming and protection of foodlands, by allowing development on good, productive farm land.


She gathered 3,000 names on a petition opposing the move, but council ignored that and forwarded the application to the land commission anyway.


They got a resounding slap on the wrist at the ballot box as a record 51 per cent of the small community’s electorate turned out to turf them out of office.


Among the successful candidates was the 26-year-old Carlson, who said Summerland can be revitalized without building on good farmland.


“I had no doubt from the start of the campaign that people don’t want to be messing with farmland,” she commented after the victory.


“People care about farmland.” Carlson was not the only successful candidate with a farming background. Another name familiar to orchardists throughout the valley captured the mayor’s chair on election night. Peter Waterman is a former apple and cherry grower and horticulturist with the agriculture ministry.


He agrees the ALR land swap issue was pivotal in the election in a community that has a large land base, much of which is farmland. He notes that 80 per cent of summer water use is for agriculture in the community of 11,280. That issue “swept out all the old council out and gave me the edge,” he commented after the election. Although he was a


Richard Barkwill ALR fight sparks Summerland shake-up


council member when the issue came up, he was the lone dissenting vote around the council table when the application was forwarded to the ALC.


Waterman said one of his first steps when he dons the chain of office would be to seek the new council’s approval to request withdrawal of the controversial application for exclusion from the ALR.


He’s also committed to reinstate the agricultural advisory committee that the previous council disbanded, although he feels it might take a different shape. Perhaps an ‘expert committee on land and water’ to advise council, he suggests, since agriculture and water are linked.


There are a couple of newly-elected council members who are less passionate about the ALR issue, but on the whole, Waterman says he expects it will be a good council that’s unified in its support for agriculture and food security issues. He envisions support for agriculture having some vital synergies with Summerland’s other need for revitalization, by weaving arts and culture into the fabric, resulting in a vibrant and diverse community that attracts visitors to contribute to the economy too.


“I couldn’t be more pleased. Not only did I win the election, but three-quarters of the community is behind our vision. We’ve got a gender balance on council and representatives of all ages,” he added.


Also elected was Richard Barkwill, a CGA who operates a small farm and whose family has owned orchards and canneries in Summerland for nearly a century. He also feels strongly that the community’s opportunities for economic growth are tied to maintaining its quality of life to draw new people to the town.


Taxpayers would lose millions of dollars in land value if the land swap was to go ahead, he pointed out, by removing private land from the ALR and then putting municipally- owned land into the reserve.


Topping the polls for councillor was Toni Boot, a long-time resident who owns Grasslands Nursery, which specializes in native and xeriscape plants, and who also feels strongly about the importance of protecting farmland.


Orchardist Denise MacDonald, a former B.C. Fruit Growers’ Association board member, narrowly missed being elected.


British Columbia FRUIT GROWER • Winter 2014-15 13


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24