B.C. farmers still arenB次元官网网址檛 B次元官网网址減ersonsB次元官网网址� under the NDP governmentB次元官网网址檚 overhaul of farmland rules, but centralized decision-making at the Agricultural Land CommissionB次元官网网址檚 Burnaby headquarters is quietly being reversed.
Regulations made public by the agriculture ministry Thursday enforce the law passed last spring that prevents individual property owners from applying directly to the ALC for exclusions, subdivisions or other changes to farmland. They have to convince their local government to apply for changes on their behalf, as the new law defines only local councils, regional districts or first nations as B次元官网网址減ersonsB次元官网网址� to the commission.
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Changes in effect this week include B次元官网网址渟implifying the ALC application fee process so Agricultural Land Reserve landowners only pay the local or first nations governments their portions of the application fee, and if these governments later forward the application to the ALC, pay the ALC directly for its portion of the fee,B次元官网网址� says a bulletin from the ministry.
Mike de Jong says is an odd time for to declare farmers arenB次元官网网址檛 B次元官网网址減ersonsB次元官网网址�.
B次元官网网址� Tom Fletcher (@tomfletcherbc)
Dispensing with a two-zone system that relaxed secondary use rules outside B.C.B次元官网网址檚 highest productivity zones, the Okanagan, Lower Mainland and southern Vancouver Island, was a high priority for Agriculture Minister Lana Popham. She also led the reorganization of the commission to get rid of regional panels, arguing it led to exclusions based on local economic pressure.
Regional decision-making is described in a issued Thursday by ALC chair Jennifer Dyson. It names panel members for Interior, Island, Kootenay, North, Okanagan and South Coast regions.
The panels will B次元官网网址渟ubject to other direction, decide inclusion, exclusion, use and subdivision, non-adhering residential use, and soil and fill use applications in each of the six administrative regions,B次元官网网址� DysonB次元官网网址檚 directive states.
tfletcher@blackpress.ca
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