Report on Performance

Overview of Commission Goals and Linkage to Government Strategic Goals

The goals of the Commission directly further achievement of the Government's strategic goals. The following table shows the relationship between the Government's strategic goals and the goals of the Commission.

Report on Results

Goal 1: Preservation of agricultural land.

The primary goal of the Agricultural Land Commission is to preserve BC's limited supply of arable land in order to provide for a safe, secure food supply and a thriving agricultural economy.

Objective 1: Lands suitable for agriculture are retained in the ALR.

Achieving this objective is critical to the goal of preserving agricultural land by ensuring that lands with potential for agriculture remain protected by the Agricultural Land Reserve. Most lands excluded from ALR have limited potential for agriculture because of poor soil or because the land is compromised by existing non-agricultural development or land ownership patterns. Lands that are otherwise suitable for agriculture and merit retention may be considered for exclusion to satisfy a pressing community need that cannot be reasonably addressed any other way.

Key Strategies

1. Adjudicate applications based on land suitability and capability for agriculture.
2. Review the suitability of ALR lands for agriculture in response to planning reviews and improved information.

Objective 2: Land use changes do not significantly diminish land capability and use for agriculture.

Achieving this objective contributes to the goal of preserving agricultural land by ensuring that land use changes occurring within or adjacent to the ALR do not impact agricultural suitability and capability.

Key Strategies

1. Adjudicate applications based on land suitability and capability for agriculture.
2. Review the suitability of ALR lands for agriculture in response to planning reviews and improved information.

Objective 3: Expansion of economic opportunities for agriculture and compatible activities.

Achieving this objective contributes to the goal of preserving agricultural land by assisting farmers and agricultural communities to capitalize on economic opportunities within the ALR that will contribute to the well-being and stability of agricultural communities.

Key Strategies

1. Consider compatible or complementary activities in the ALR.
2. Where appropriate, consider compensating benefits for agriculture when approvals are granted.

Goal 1: Performance Measures and Results

Performance Measures	2000/01 Actual	2003/04 Actual	2004/05 Target	2004/05 Actual	Variance	Target Met?
Total land in ALR	4 725 289 hectares	4 764 634 hectares	4 764 634 hectares1	4 764 078 hectares	-556 hectares
Net changes in ALR area	4 725 289 hectares	4 764 634 hectares	<0.1 per cent change annually (4 764 hectares)	0.01 per cent change (556 hectares2)	+4 208 hectares
Application refusals due to anticipated significant impact	No data available	46 per cent	48 per cent	58 per cent3	+10 per cent
Per cent yearly growth in agriculture (per cent change in cash farm receipts)	$2.22 billion (source; Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries)	$2.283 billion	3 per cent increase ($2.35 billion)	5.25 per cent increase ($2.403 billion)	+2.25 per cent
Estimated number of new oil and gas wells in ALR	No data available	272 (estimated)	15 per cent increase	190 per cent increase (517 including pipelines)	+175 per cent
Applications approved with compensating benefit	No data available	6 per cent	8 per cent	5 per cent	-3 percentage points4
Performance Analysis	This is a revised target. 4 750 000 hectares was the estimated size of the ALR as of April 1, 2004 at the time the 2004/05 — 2006/07 Service Plan was published. The actual size is now estimated to have been 4 764 634 hectares as of April 1, 2004. A total of 1770 hectares was excluded from the ALR, 1214 hectares included, for a net change of -556 hectares. Of the applications refused outright, the Commission cited impact on agriculture (i.e., the potential negative impact of the proposal on existing or possible future agricultural operations) as a reason for refusal 58 per cent of the time. In addition, the suitability and capability of the land under application was cited as a reason for refusal in 64 per cent of cases. Note that both reasons may be cited for the refusal of the same application. The propriety of obtaining a compensating benefit for the approval of an application is dependent on the situation and in many cases is not appropriate. As a result, only a small percentage of applications are approved with a compensating benefit.
Exceeded target.  Achieved target.  Target mostly achieved.  Missed target.

Goal 2: The encouragement and enabling of farm businesses.

The Agricultural Land Reserve is a working landscape on which the business of farming can take place. Through its regulatory tools and work with local governments and other agencies, the Commission plays a role in ensuring that the Agricultural Land Reserve provides a suitable business environment for agricultural activities.

Objective 1: Plans, policies and activities of local governments, agencies and First Nations encourage, enable and accommodate farming.

This objective can contribute to the encouragement and enabling of farm businesses by ensuring that land use plans, policies and regulations are conducive to agriculture.

Key Strategies

1. Distribute guidelines to local governments to guide plan development and apply guidelines to plan reviews to ensure provincial ALR interest is met.
2. Discuss potential treaty settlement lands that are in the ALR with First Nations and negotiators.

Objective 2: Improved local government capacity to plan for agriculture and support farm businesses.

Achieving this objective contributes to the goal of the encouragement and enabling of farm businesses by promoting the recognition and support of agriculture by local government necessary to maintain agricultural infrastructure and a thriving agricultural economy.

Key Strategies

1. Communicate and provide assistance to local governments on ALR regulatory changes, policies and processes.
2. Encourage local governments to include farm community representatives in planning, including their participation on Board or Council advisory committees.
3. Encourage and assist local governments in the preparation of agricultural plans.

Goal 2: Performance Measures and Results

Performance Measures	2000/01 Actual	2003/04 Actual	2004/05 Target	2004/05 Actual	Variance	Target Met?
Growth in agriculture GDP (gross domestic product)	$1.77 billion	$2.2 billion	3 per cent increase	See Performance Analysis1	Undeter-mined	Undeter-mined
Local government plans are consistent with provincial ALR guidelines	Not applicable	Guidelines established and distributed	70 per cent of plans are consistent	No data available2	Undeter-mined	Undeter-mined
Number of advisory committees with majority farm sector representation	No data available	19	21	22	+1
Number of local government agricultural area plans	No data available	13	15	15	None
Performance Analysis	Current and comparable information on agricultural GDP could not be obtained for this report. For a suitable proxy for measuring the encouragement and enabling of farm businesses, refer to the Per Cent Yearly Growth in Agriculture (Per Cent Change in Cash Farm Receipts) measure under Goal 1. ALR and Community Planning Guidelines were released in 2004 with the intent that official community plans would be audited for consistency with the guidelines. The Commission is now reviewing changes to its practices and procedures necessary to implement the audit program.
Exceeded target.  Achieved target.   Target mostly achieved.  Missed target.

Goal 3: A provincial agricultural land reserve systems that considers community interests.

An agricultural land reserve system that considers community interests in addition to agricultural considerations has the potential to improve decisions by ensuring that the Commission has the information about community issues and needs necessary to tailor decisions to a community's circumstances.

Objective 1: Increased awareness of community issues within the Reserve.

Achieving this objective contributes to the goal of an agricultural land reserve system that considers community interests by ensuring that regional Commission panels spend time in communities affected by their decisions and that applicants have an opportunity to meet with the commissioners prior to a decision being made.

Key Strategies

1. Meet with local governments and stakeholders to discuss balancing community interests with preserving agricultural land.
2. Build regional responsiveness of the Commission through increased presence in the regions and meetings with applicants.

Objective 2: Community issues and needs factored into decision-making.

Achieving this objective contributes to the goal of an agricultural land reserve system that considers community interests by ensuring that the community's needs and issues are acknowledged as part of the decision-making process and are accommodated to the extent that they do not unduly compromise the goal of preserving agricultural land.

Key Strategies

1. Work with local governments to identify and address community needs, particularly through community planning.
2. Develop and apply dispute resolution processes for unresolved conflicts between the Commission and local government.

Objective 3: Increased participation of local governments and public authorities in ALR decision-making under delegated authority.

Achieving this objective contributes to the goal of an agricultural land reserve system that considers community interests by providing communities with final decision-making authority for certain types of land use and subdivision within the ALR.

Key Strategies

1. Negotiate delegation agreements in priority areas with interested and supportive local governments and public authorities.

Goal 3: Performance Measures and Results

Performance Measures	2000/01 Actual	2003/04 Actual	2004/05 Target	2004/05 Actual	Variance	Target Met?
Number of meetings with local governments and stakeholders	35	60	60	45	-151
Per cent applications decided after site visit	51 per cent	70 per cent (estimate)	80 per cent	90 per cent	+10 per cent
Concurrence between local government recommendations and Commission decisions	No data available	54 per cent	58 per cent	64 per cent2	+6 per cent
Per cent applications approved for which community need is a factor	No data available	14 per cent	16 per cent	19 per cent	+3 per cent
Number of delegation agreements with interested local governments	1	1	3 total	2 total	-13
Number of delegation agreements with public authorities	0	1	2 total	1	-14
Performance Analysis	Commission panels met with a significant number of local governments and stakeholders over the past three years to discuss general issues and establish familiarity. The need for meetings over the past year was more often in response to single issues; therefore, the demand for meetings with the Commission was less than targeted. The 64 per cent concurrence between local government recommendations and Commission decisions applies to the total number of applications received. If applications forwarded by local governments without a comment or recommendation are considered to be consistent with the Commission’s decisions, the concurrence rate would be 89 per cent. The Commission implemented a delegation agreement with the Regional District of East Kootenay in 2004, in addition to an existing agreement with the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George. The Commission has been unable to identify additional local governments that are in a position to assume delegation. The Commission implemented a delegation agreement with the provincial Oil and Gas Commission in 2004. The Commission has been unable to identify additional public agencies that are in a position to assume delegation.
Exceeded target.  Achieved target.  Target mostly achieved.  Missed target.

Goal 4: Sound Governance and Organizational Excellence.

The Agricultural Land Commission is dedicated to ensuring that it operates in a transparent and accountable manner, and that it provides a high level of satisfaction to both its clients and its employees.

Objective 1: A responsive, effective and accountable Commission.

Achieving this objective contributes directly to the goal of sound governance and organizational excellence by ensuring that the Commission exhibits three highly desirable characteristics of a regulatory body.

Key Strategies

1. Reduce regulatory requirements.
2. Develop an enterprise risk management system (ERM).
3. Provide timely and efficient responses to applications and inquiries.

Objective 2: Performance focused staff.

Achieving this objective contributes to goal of sound governance and organizational excellence by ensuring that staff have the skills, training and motivation necessary to provide professional and timely service to the Commission and the public.

Key Strategies

1. Continue implementation of employee performance and development planning (EPDP) system, review results and revise as needed.

Goal 4: Performance Measures and Results

Performance Measures	2000/01 Actual	2003/04 Actual	2004/05 Target	2004/05 Actual	Variance	Target Met?
Local government survey — Commission panel structure improved responsiveness	No data available	82 per cent	84 per cent	No data available1	Undeter-mined	Undeter-mined
Number of regulatory requirements	900	296	≤#250	221 (estimate)	-29
Implementation of three phase Enterprise Risk Management planning	Not applicable	Initial phase: identify key risks	Initial phase continued	Initial phase continued	None
Application response time (per cent of applications decided within 90 days of receipt)	48 per cent	79 per cent	80 per cent	66 per cent	-14 percentage points2
Employee Performance and Development Plans implemented	Not applicable	Fully implemented	Review and revise	Reviewed and revised	None
Performance Analysis	Data on local government opinion regarding the responsiveness of the Commission panel structure was derived from a survey conducted in 2002. There are no plans to conduct an updated survey at this time. As the following chart shows, the Commission met the 80 per cent target in three of the six panel regions and almost met the target in one region. Panel Percentage of Applications Processed in 90 days or Less        South Coastal        46.4 per cent Island 84.0 per cent Okanagan 81.1 per cent Kootenay 78.9 per cent North 72.3 per cent Interior 86.7 per cent Increased volume and a number of complex applications in the South Coastal region and the extensive travel required in the North region resulted in a lower percentage of applications being processed on target in these regions. Despite falling short of the target in three regions, the average processing time for an application was 90 days, as over 35 per cent of applications were processed within 60 days of receipt.
Exceeded target.  Achieved target.   Target mostly achieved.  Missed target.

Deregulation

In 2001, the provincial government committed to reducing the regulatory burden by one third in order to increase British Columbia's economic and business competitiveness. The Agricultural Land Commission has surpassed the government's objectives for regulatory reform, achieving the following results:

• A 75 per cent reduction in the number of regulations administered by the Commission since 2001;
• The elimination of the Forest Land Reserve and the transfer of responsibility for the regulation of forest practices on managed private land from the Commission to a government-industry partnership known as the Private Managed Forest Land Council; and
• The Agricultural Land Reserve Subdivision, Use and Procedure Regulation was amended in 2002 to expand the range of permitted uses and to exempt certain farm and non-farm uses from the need for an application subject to the approval of the CEO of the Commission.

No further significant increases or decreases in the number of regulations administered by the Commission are anticipated.

In addition to regulatory reform, the Commission is committed to business practices that facilitate timely and appropriate decisions on applications made under the Agricultural Land Commission Act. To increase its responsiveness, the Commission has undertaken the following steps:

• Six regional panels were created in 2001 in order to increase interaction with applicants and stakeholders, provide the opportunity for increased regional presence, increase decision-making efficiency and increase opportunities for delegation to local governments and First Nations.
• The Commission set a performance target of deciding 80 per cent of applications within 90 days of receipt.