Agricultural Land Commission 2002/03 Annual Service Plan Report

Year-at-a-Glance Highlights

The fiscal year 2002/2003 was one of significant change and innovation for the Agricultural Land Commission. Core Review re-confirmed government's commitment to agricultural land preservation through a provincial land reserve system. At the same time, the Commission was directed to deliver its public services more effectively, and to adopt a more regionally based model.

The Commission was re-structured to provide more regional representation in decision-making. New legislation was passed to provide the Commission with new tools to manage the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) and to streamline administration. Significant deregulation was accomplished and new results-based processes were initiated. The Commission promoted the option of delegating some land use decision-making in the ALR to local governments and public authorities. In response to government direction through Core Review, the Commission also took steps to phase out the Forest Land Reserve (FLR) and to transfer responsibility for forest practices regulation on private managed forest lands to a new entity. The Commission continued to work with many stakeholders and communities of interest to achieve its mandate.

The New Era Commitment — to increase the regional responsiveness of the Commission to community needs — was achieved in 2002/03 through a number of changes and initiatives highlighted below. In particular, the new regional panel structure brought decision-making for the ALR closer to those affected; and opportunities for communication and coordination amongst the Commission, communities and individuals were improved across the province.

During this year of rapid change the Commission managed a workforce adjustment from twenty-nine full-time equivalent staff (FTE) to twenty-three at the end of the year, together with a budget reduction of 13%.

Focus on Agricultural Land Preservation

• Government confirmed that a provincial land reserve system to protect agricultural land was in the public interest and should be maintained.
• The work of the Commission was re-focused on agricultural land preservation and the more efficient and effective management of the ALR.
• Its name was changed from the Land Reserve Commission to the Agricultural Land Commission (November 1, 2002) to reflect the re-focused mandate.
• The Commission's responsibility for land use regulation in the Forest Land Reserve was eliminated. The regulation of forest practices on private land was continued through a transition phase, with anticipated phasing out during late 2003.

Commission Re-structuring

• Six panels of the Commission were created based on six regions of the Province: Interior, Island, South Coastal, North, Okanagan and Kootenay.
• Eighteen new Commissioners were appointed in May 2002 to form six 3-member panels, each headed by a Vice Chair. The Commission Chair and CEO is the 19th Commissioner.
• An Executive Committee was created comprised of the Chair and the six Vice Chairs.
• Panel members, appointed from regions, met in their regions and made all ALR decisions for those regions.
• The full Commission (19 members) met three times during the year to discuss policy and operations.

New Legislation

• New legislation — the Agricultural Land Commission Act, 2002 — was passed by the Legislature in the spring 2002 legislative session and came into effect November 1, 2002.
• Consequential amendments to the Act repealed the Land Reserve Commission Act, Agricultural Land Reserve Act and Soil Conservation Act.
• Legislation provided new tools to manage the Reserve including authority for a regional panel structure; a dispute resolution process for community issues; a notification process for soil removal and fill activities; and enhanced enforcement and compliance powers.
• A new regulation — Agricultural Land Reserve Use, Subdivision and Procedure Regulation — came into effect November 1, 2002 and Cabinet repealed four sets of regulations replaced by the new regulation.

De-regulation and Results-based Processes

• Implementation of the new legislation and regulations reduced regulatory requirements within the Commission's responsibility areas by 18%.
• New regulations broadened permitted uses in the ALR, allowing additional farm-related, complementary and value-added activities that helped to expand economic opportunity.
• New legislative provisions replaced a cumbersome regulatory process under the former Soil Conservation Act with a results-based process for the removal of soil and placement of fill in the ALR.

Shared Decision-making through Delegation

• New legislative provisions enhanced the opportunity for shared decision-making with local governments and public authorities for land use and subdivision decisions in the ALR.
• Meetings were held with 58 local governments to promote the option for municipal councils and regional boards to assume certain powers for decision-making in the ALR, through delegation agreements with the Commission.
• Negotiations commenced with the Oil and Gas Commission to prepare an agreement for the delegation of specified oil and gas development approvals in the Peace and Northern Rockies regional districts.

Phase-out of Forest Land Reserve

• Amendments to the Forest Land Reserve Act, effective November 1, 2002, eliminated the Commission's authority to regulate land use in the Forest Land Reserve, and eliminated the Crown Forest Land Reserve designation.
• The Commission continued to regulate forest practices on private managed forest lands in the FLR and to decide applications for inclusion to, and exclusion from, the FLR during the transition period to phase out the FLR.
• Work began on the development of a new model to regulate forest practices on private managed forest lands. New legislation, expected in the coming fiscal year, will implement this model and create a public/private partnership.

Partnerships and Collaboration

• The Commission continued its practice of meeting with local governments and their advisory committees to discuss land use and community issues, and to promote better understanding of the economic and social contributions made to communities by the farm sector.
• With the implementation of regional panels, the number of on-site meetings with applicants and stakeholders increased dramatically from previous years.
• The Commission participated in strategic planning initiatives with a number of communities including Greater Vancouver Regional District, Fraser Valley Regional District, Nanaimo Regional District, Saanich Peninsula municipalities, and Fort St. John and area.
• Memoranda of Understanding (MOU's) were developed with agencies such as Land and Water BC.
• The Commission worked with the Oil and Gas Commission towards a delegation agreement, the first anticipated agreement with a public agency, as provided in the new legislation.

Key Outcome

For thirty years British Columbia has had a provincial land reserve system in place. The presence of a province-wide ALR has provided the land base for an agricultural economy that has consistently expanded over this period, and has influenced how BC's rural and urban communities have developed. Of particular importance has been the success that BC communities have achieved in limiting sprawl. A big part of this success is due to the fact that agricultural lands around many communities are restricted from urban development by the ALR.

A recent study by Smart Growth BC and Northwest Environment Watch entitled "Sprawl and Smart Growth in Greater Vancouver" credited BC's ALR for helping to achieve compact development and limiting sprawl in Greater Vancouver. The study showed that Vancouver, which almost doubled its population between 1986 and 2001, significantly increased urban density while also protecting agricultural land and green space.

In contrast, Seattle's weaker zoning and other protections led to rampant sprawl, increased traffic congestion and an associated loss of farmland and open space. The study noted that if Vancouver's growth had followed the same pattern as Seattle's, "four fifths of [its] remaining agricultural land would be covered with tracts of suburban housing".

Containing urban sprawl and encouraging compact development are important to maintaining sustainability and quality of life in a region; increasing the efficient delivery of services, including transportation; and reducing costs. Despite significant population growth in the Lower Mainland (as well as other areas of the province) the provincial land reserve system, in addition to securing the land needed for successful agriculture, has helped shape more efficient development and has reduced servicing costs to communities.