Core Business Areas

The core business of the Agricultural Land Commission is the preservation of agricultural land through the administration of the Agricultural Land Commission Act. The business of the Commission is carried out through three functional areas:

Land Use Planning and Application Processing

The Commission reviews and decides applications under the Agricultural Land Commission Act and enforces compliance with the Act and regulations. In addition to deciding land use applications under the Act, the Commission reviews plans and bylaws of local governments and other agencies to ensure that the ALR is properly identified and that the 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.

Strategic Planning and Corporate Policy

The Commission develops strategies, plans and policies to achieve the goals and objectives set out in the Service Plan. The Commission also participates in the agricultural planning and policy initiatives of other ministries, agencies and local governments.

Administration and Information Systems

The previous two functions are supported by an administration, records management and information systems unit. This includes maintenance of an application database over 36,000 files and ALR maps for the province.

Information Resource Management Plan

The Agricultural Land Commission Information Resource Management Plan overview is available on the Commission website at: http://www.alc.gov.bc.ca/relatedplanningprocesses/overview.html.