How permitted non-farm uses impact agriculture in the agricultural land reserve : an assessment in six Greater Vancouver municipalities

An Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) was established in British Columbia, Canada, by provincial legislation in 1973 with the objective of protecting agricultural lands and encouraging its use for agriculture. The regulation restricts the use of reserves lands to agriculture and related purposes, but approval for permitted non-farm uses can be granted by the reserve’s oversight body, the Agricultural Land Commission. This study assessed whether permitted non-farm use activities serve to enhance or detract from agricultural use of the land subject to the decision. A methodology to track and assess agricultural land use post non-farm use approval was developed and applied. This included a review of documentation related to approved non-farm use decisions in six contiguous municipalities in the greater Vancouver region of British Columbia, Canada, from 1997 to 2016. followed by contemporary land use assessment and data analysis. As such the study comprised three stages. Overall, approved non-farm use applications do not lead to more or less agricultural use of ALR lands. Most parcels not farmed prior to approval of non-farm use, remained not farmed and those used for farming continued to be farmed. As such, the analysis indicates that on balance there was neither an outright positive or negative outcome. Study results provide a snapshot of a period of time and are not intended to suggest a causal relationship. This study contributes to a greater understanding of the impacts of approved non-farm use decisions on land designated for agriculture.