NOVEMBER 2019 • COUNTRY LIFE IN BC Farm status undermined by local bylaws


Definition of a bonafide farm differs among municipalities


by PETER MITHAM & DAVID SCHMIDT


DELTA – Some of the


hurdles farmers have to jump to prove they’re farmers were highlighted during the province’s meeting in Delta on October 1 designed to discuss ways to support farming. Many attending the


meeting complained that the province’s new emphasis on giving local government a say in the kinds of applications forwarded to the Agricultural Land Commission means there’s little consistency in how those governments determine what a viable farm is or what is allowed on-farm. Kendall Ballantine of


Central Park Farms in Langley noted her farm generates annual revenues of about $400,000 but said, “I don’t qualify as a farm in Langley.” This means that if one of


the residences on the property burns down and she seeks permission to rebuild, township staff will reject her application before it even reaches the ALC. “By township of Langley


standards, we would be denied for that application,” she explained to Country Life in BC after the meeting. “You can have farm status and not be considered a bonafide farmer.” A township information sheet developed in the late 1980s says a farm property in the township must meet a minimum threshold of production in order to be considered for a second dwelling. A farrow-to-finish operation must have at least 150 sows, while a finishing operation must have at least 2,200 hogs. Broiler operations must be producing 56,000 birds a cycle while beef farms must be running at least 100 cow-calf pairs, or be grazing a minimum of 150 animals, not including those under six months old.


“The number of pigs you


have to have in order to qualify with the township of Langley is actually more than what zoning of the township of Langley even allows,” she says. “So it’s impossible.” Ballantine says the


township is willing to discuss the issue. Councillor Kim Richter is convening a meeting November 6 to find out where the exact problem lies.


Bill 52 changed things But when Country Life in BC


approached the township for comment, staff indicated the new provincial regulation introduced in February as a result of Bill 52 superceded the old information sheet. “Prior to the new ALC


regulation, the township used it to determine if a second dwelling for farm help could be issued, without going to the ALC for approval. Recently, the ALC made changes to the regulation for residences in the ALR,” a staff statement explained, referencing a bulletin issued regarding the new regulation. “[The bulletin] provides details on the new regulations, which require that any additional dwelling beyond the primary dwelling be approved by the ALC.” Many other local


governments, including Surrey and the Squamish- Lillooet Regional District, typically define a farm in keeping with regulations under the BC Assessment Act.


Agritourism challenges But sometimes parts of a


farm are enough to disqualify the whole. Gary Moran of Fantasy


Farms in Chilliwack operates 28 acres, three of which are used for agritourism. He told the Delta meeting he became involved in agritourism at the urging of former BC Ministry of Agriculture agrologist Brent Warner, who had a mandate to promote direct farm


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Kendall Ballantine of Central Park Farms in Langley says even though her farm grosses $400,000 annually, it doesn’t meet the Township of Langley’s definition of a farm. By those standards, she says, she would be unable to make an application to the ALC through her local government. RONDA PAYNE FILE PHOTO


marketing and agritourism. His work even led to the formation of the BC Agri- tourism Alliance.


But staff in Chilliwack have determined the three acres where he hosts weddings, operates a pumpkin patch and corn maze are a tourism attraction rather than a viable farm. He wonders why his entire 28 acres aren’t being considered to determine farm


status. (Indeed, the corn grown for the maze eventually becomes silage, meaning it’s not just a prop.) This isn’t Moran’s first run-in


with restrictive regulations governing agri-tourism; weddings at Fantasy Farms were cancelled in 2016 during a previous skirmish over the kinds of activities permitted in the ALR.


While many operators won


a victory in that round when the rules were clarified, agritourism operations now appear to be getting the cold shoulder as the province pursues a “farming first” emphasis. Many landowners feel that


if agritourism isn’t outright disallowed, it’s subjected to regulations that make it all but impossible for them to continue.


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