Commission Overview

The Agricultural Land Commission is the provincial agency responsible for administering the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR), a provincial land use zone in favour of agriculture. The Commission's purpose is to preserve agricultural land and encourage and enable farm businesses throughout British Columbia. Its purpose, role and responsibilities are contained in the Agricultural Land Commission Act (ALCA). Government revised the legislation governing the Commission in 2002, and at that time re-affirmed its responsibilities to manage the ALR in the public interest.

The Act sets out processes for land use approvals including the inclusion or removal of land from the ALR, non-farm uses and subdivisions. The Act is supported by the Agricultural Land Reserve Use, Subdivision and Procedure Regulation, which details procedures for applications and defines permitted land uses and land subdivisions within the ALR. The new regulations have broadened uses permitted in the Reserve, providing for more diversified and value-added agricultural activities and expanded economic opportunities. These and other changes have resulted in a substantial decrease in regulatory requirements for land in the ALR.

In addition to deciding land use applications under the ALCA, the Commission reviews plans and bylaws of local governments and other agencies to ensure that the ALR is properly identified and that local policies are supportive of the ALR and farmland preservation. The Commission works with many stakeholders including individuals, farm organizations, local governments and First Nations to support farm development and to remove unnecessary obstacles to farm expansion in their areas.

The business of the Commission is carried out through three functional areas¹:

Strategic Planning and Corporate Policy The Commission develops policy and participates in the agricultural planning and policy initiatives of other ministries, agencies and local governments;

Regional Operations The Commission reviews and decides applications under the Agricultural Land Commission Act, and enforces compliance with the Act and regulations;

Administration and Information Systems This function includes administrative support and records management. The Commission maintains an application database and ALR maps for the province.

The Commission's functions and services are intended to meet the objectives and deliver the outcomes described in this plan, and to support the government's strategic direction.

Strategic Priorities

The Commission has improved its methods of doing business in response to government priorities. Current strategic priorities include:

• Building certainty and stability for the Agricultural Land Reserve through continuing focus on protecting agricultural land;
• Maintaining the regional panel structure of the Commission so that decisions for the ALR are informed and regionally responsive;
• Continuing to assess and consider community needs, in balance with the provincial interest in preserving agricultural land; and
• Working with local governments, ministries and agencies, and First Nations when requested, to:
  — plan for agriculture;
  — encourage and enable successful farm businesses; and
  — increase economic opportunities in rural and urban fringe areas.

Plans for the next three years

The Commission and its staff have worked hard to implement changes to its program and services over the past two years. All of the strategic shifts directed by government through Core Review will have been implemented by the start of this service plan.

Over the next three years the Commission will be working towards the following outcomes and results:

• Agricultural land will be preserved — the net area of the ALR should remain substantially unchanged although some additions and deletions will be made;
• Economic opportunities for agriculture and compatible activities in the ALR are likely to expand — the province expects continuing growth in farm cash receipts to exceed the average over the past five years;
• The operation of the Commission based on a six panel structure will continue to improve regional responsiveness;
• The Commission will eliminate additional red-tape — to date it has reduced the number of regulatory requirements by 67 per cent with anticipated further reductions;
• The Commission will work towards a results-based process for the review of local government plans and bylaws, to achieve consistency with the ALR;
• The performance management system will be enhanced by collecting new application related information, tracking trends and reporting results;
• The Commission will continue to meet with applicants on site before making decisions and will meet with local governments and stakeholders to build partnerships and seek more positive outcomes;
• The Commission did not meet last year's target for delegating some decision-making to local governments — it has revised its target to focus on those local governments that have expressed interest in delegation;
• Under a delegation agreement with one public authority — the Oil and Gas Commission — the Agricultural Land Commission will monitor and review results according to criteria outlined in the delegation agreement;
• Each of its staff (20 full time equivalents) has implemented Employee Performance and Development Plans — the Commission will review and revise plans as needed; and
• The Commission will continue to streamline operations in response to available budget resources.