The Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) is a collection of
agricultural land in
British Columbia in which agriculture is recognized as the priority. In total, the ALR covers approximately and includes private and
public lands that may be farmed, forested or are vacant. Some ALR blocks cover thousands of
hectares while others are small pockets of only a few hectares. The reserve is administered by the Agricultural Land Commission (ALC), consisting of a chair and six vice-chairs appointed by the
Lieutenant Governor-in-Council of British Columbia (cabinet) and twelve regular commissioners appointed by the provincial Minister of Agriculture.
The ALR was established by the
British Columbia New Democratic Party government of
Dave Barrett in 1973, when it was considered to be the most progressive legislation of its kind in North America. It was intended to permanently protect valuable agricultural land that has among the most
fertile soil in the country from being lost. Despite having been in existence for over 40 years, however, the ALR continues to be threatened by
urbanization and the
land development
Land development is the alteration of landscape in any number of ways such as:
* Changing landforms from a natural or semi-natural state for a purpose such as agriculture or housing
* Subdividing real estate into lots, typically for the purpose ...
industry.
The Commission divides the province into several panel regions: South Coast, Interior, Island, Kootenay, North, and Okanagan.
The ALC also categorizes soil into seven numbered land capability classes, with Class 1 being the most arable land and Class 7 being the least. There are also several lettered sub-classes, representing a number of issues with farming on a parcel of land.
A tax break is applicable to property in the ALR.
History
In the 1960s and 70s, almost 6000 hectares of prime agricultural land was being lost per year in British Columbia. It was recognized that the province had a lack of arable farmland, and food security was dwindling. The provincial government introduced the ''Land Commission Act'' on April 18, 1973, creating the Agricultural Land Commission. The Commission identified 4.7 million hectares to be included in the Agricultural Land Reserve, assisted by local governments and public hearings.
In 1977, the ALC's secondary responsibilities of creating green space and assembling land for urban uses were dropped, due to overlap with other departments.
Between 1980 and 1984, the Commission conducted a thorough review of ALR zoning boundaries, using new maps and soil information. Eastern Vancouver Island was given special attention.
On May 29, 2014, the
BC Liberal government of
Christy Clark split the ALR into two different zones with different restrictions: Zone 1 (Island, Okanagan, South Coast) and Zone 2 (North, Kootenay, Interior). ALR-protected land in Zone 2 had to also consider economical, cultural, and regional planning objectives, while Zone 1 prioritized agricultural purposes above all else.
On November 20, 2018, the NDP under
John Horgan reverted the two-zone split, restricted the number of residences allowed on agricultural land to one, and added an upper limit of 500 m
2 to the floor area of any residences on the ALR.
Controversy
Since its inception, critics of ALR policy claimed that ALR restrictions prevented profit-taking by landowners, especially in British Columbia's rapidly-growing
Lower Mainland
The Lower Mainland is a geographic and cultural region of the mainland coast of British Columbia that generally comprises the regional districts of Metro Vancouver and Fraser Valley. Home to approximately 3.05million people as of the 2021 Canadia ...
region, where in the early 21st century, land prices are among the highest in North America. The claim is also made that owners of land in the ALR are not sufficiently compensated for their property and that it constitutes unreasonable interference in
private property rights. Critics also claim that the Agricultural Land Reserve has both inflated property values and created a severe housing shortage throughout British Columbia and that much of the poverty caused in British Columbia is a result of regressive land use policies.
Many ALR property owners, especially those closer to urban areas, where commercial real estate prices are higher, maintain vacant lots in anticipation of zoning changes, as the ALR does not stipulate that the land must produce, agriculturally-speaking. However, media reports still indicate that the ALR has widespread popularity among British Columbia voters.
There has been criticism of inconsistency in how policies are applied, in one instance, a farmer was forced to produce alcohol for a restaurant to stay open.
Defenders of the ALR respond that the province has little
arable land, especially of such productivity as exists on the
Fraser River
The Fraser River is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Blackrock Mountain in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for , into the Strait of Georgia just south of the City of Vancouver. The river's annual d ...
delta
Delta commonly refers to:
* Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), a letter of the Greek alphabet
* River delta, at a river mouth
* D (NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta")
* Delta Air Lines, US
* Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19
Delta may also re ...
around
Vancouver, and that the ALR protects British Columbia's important agriculture sector.{{Weasel inline, date=March 2022 They also suggest that a large part of the Lower Mainland's development pressure comes from the lack of a unified land use and transportation plan for the
Metro Vancouver Regional District and the failure of municipalities to replace
sprawl with densification.
Finally, they claim that the ALR is a reasonable extension of the government's right to
zone land for various uses. They have been distressed in recent years at what they see as the weakening of the policy by the designation of golf courses as "agricultural land" and the removal of ALR-protected lands for residential, commercial, and industrial development.
See also
*
Greenbelt (Golden Horseshoe), a similar reserve in
Ontario.
References
External links
Agricultural Land Commission
*
ttps://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/industry/agriculture-seafood Agriculture - Province of B.C.The British Columbia Ministry of Agriculture
Geography of British Columbia
Agriculture in British Columbia
British Columbia government departments and agencies
Land management
Zoning