CITY OF PITT MEADOWSAGRICULTURAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE

MINUTES OF THE AGRICULTURAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETINGHeld at the Pitt Meadows City Hall, Meadows Room, Pitt Meadows, BC

Thursday, November 10th, 2016

COMMITTEE MEMBERS: STAFF:Joe Bachmann, Co-chairLeo Captein, Co-chairMacky BannsBruce Bell, Council LiaisonJanis Elkerton, Alternate Council LiaisonDieter Geesing, Ministry of AgricultureBob HopcottDan KosickiMike ManionScott PeltonMike Stark, Acting Council Liaison

REGRETS:Hank BitterBill ParkScott Pelton

Kate Zanon, Director of Community Services, Meeting ChairRandy Evans, Operations SuperintendentDana Parr, PlannerForrest Smith, Director of Engineering and OperationsElaine Harrison, Recorder

GUESTS:William Wild, Resident

The meeting was called to order at 10:03 am.

Adoption of Minutes October 13th, 2016Moved by Leo Captein and seconded by Dan Kosicki that the minutes of October 13th, 2016 be adopted.

CARRIED

Agricultural Land Use Map ReviewThe Committee reviewed the 2013 Agricultural Land Use Map to identify any changes since it had been produced and made some minor amendments. Dieter Geesing advised the Committee that the Ministry would be undertaking an Ecological Land Use Inventory for Metro Vancouver in the spring of 2017. The Committee agreed that terminology that the Ministry use should be synchronized with that used on the City’s map.

Drainage Policy – Formation of Sub-Committee and ReviewRandy Evans, Operations Superintendent reported that the Operations Division routinely follows Drainage Policy C016 but it has become apparent that this policy it does not always meet everyone’s needs as areas through the City vary. Mr. Evans confirmed that a date and time for the formation of a sub-committee meeting on this topic is to occur on November 30th, 2016 at 10am at the Works Yard and that he would like to reach out to all effected residents whose voice is not normally heard. At the meeting Mr. Evans intends to present findings on testing alternate drainage levels and to learn more about the issues and perspectives from all user groups.

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Suggestions from the Sub-committee would be reported back to the AAC before presenting Council with possible amendments to the policy for their consideration.

Information Letter from Metro Vancouver re “Encouraging Agricultural Production through Farm Property Tax Reform in Metro Vancouver” for review and comment. Referred by Mayor Becker for review and commentKate Zanon, Director of Community Services reported that Council had forwarded a letter to the AAC from Metro Vancouver regarding Farm Property Tax Reforms looking for feedback from Municipalities. The letter stated that Metro had completed a 3 year review of farm property tax policy assessing whether tax reforms could assist in encouraging farming or discourage non-farm use on land in the ALR. The review concluded that existing tax policies are inadvertently encouraging non-farm use of agricultural land and recommended:-

Eliminating the 50% School Tax exemption for properties classed as residential (Class 1) in the ALR;

Changing the income threshold to achieve farm classification to a minimum of $3,500, regardless of farm size and develop a two-tier farm classification benefits system;

Adjust the method for valuing agricultural land not used for farming; and Encourage local government and the ALC to develop new protocols to enable

BC Assessment to obtain timely information on change in land use and new commercial business activities in the ALR.

The Committee felt a small Sub-Committee comprising Councillor Bell, Councillor Stark and City staff be formed and Heather McNell, Division Manager of Growth Management at Metro Vancouver be invited to attend. The Sub-Committee would look at the White Paper and how this relates to Pitt Meadows as the City has some anomalies that should be considered.

Events and Weddings in the ALRDana Parr, Planner presented a report and Policy L-22 from the ALC (attachment A) regarding gatherings in the ALR for purposes such as weddings. Ms. Parr asked the Committee for feedback prior to preparing a draft brochure and permit for applicants. The ALC had recently amended the Agricultural Land Reserve Use, Subdivision and Procedure Regulations to include “gatherings for an event” as a permissible non-farm use in the ALR subject to the following conditions:

Property must be classified as a farm under the Assessment Act No permanent facilities for events permitted Parking for the event must be accommodated on the property No more than 150 people permitted at an event No more than 10 events permitted in a calendar year Each event is limited to no more than 24 hours in duration

Staff had raised the following concerns:

How to ensure compliance with the ALC regulations How to keep track of events How to reduce potential conflicts between farm operations and events

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How to ensure people’s safety in agricultural buildings that are not designed to accommodate large groups of people

The Committee echoed the concerns presented by staff and motioned for staff to prepare a draft brochure and bring it back to the AAC for review.

Background on City of Richmond’s actions in stopping a 41,000 sq. ft. homeKate Zanon, Director of Community Services informed the Committee that the City of Richmond had recently cancelled a building permit for the construction of a 41,000 sq. ft. home. They had been able to achieve this based on the interpretation of the Zoning Regulations that the application did not equate to a single family home but was rather a hotel and hotels were not a permitted use in the zone. The hotel determination was based on the fact that the plans showed more than one entrance and a layout that appeared to be a multi-tenanted dwelling. The Committee felt that Richmond’s decision could be used as a precedent when dealing with applications for large dwellings in Pitt Meadows.

Distribution of the Watershed Watch presentation from February 12, 2015Kate Zanon, Director of Community Services shared the Watershed Watch presentation to the Committee from February 2015 to refresh the Committee’s memory. The Committee reiterated that their letter dated January 14, 2015 which had been forwarded to Council best summed up the Committee’s concerns and cautioned to be guarded about this.

The committee also commented that clearing of invasive species in waterways is a predominant concern. Mr. Evans, Operations Superintendent commented that he had recent attended a Water Forum on this issue and a possible solution could be a Master Plan with a 50 year vision including planting trees for shade, looking at fish, elevations and cleaning waterways. He pointed out that at the moment it is a fragmented approach which is causing problems. Staff commented that if meetings about the slough occur AAC members can be involved it they want. A next step could be a farmer to farmer Forum to allow discussion about their concerns.

RoundtableDan Kosicki – mentioned that he had noticed Bylaw staff and the RCMP had recently attended the homeless camp that had formed under the Pitt River Bridge. He was hopeful that the camp would be moved quickly so as to deter crime and other problems in the City. Ms. Zanon said that the area is not City property but staff had attended and asked the people to move on, she indicated clean up options are under review.

Mr. Kosicki also pointed out that he had recently had dealings with the movie industry and had been impressed with how professional they had conducted themselves. He thought this was good revenue source for farmers who may have suitable properties for movie locations, that the companies are using local contractors and spending money in the City.

Joe Bachmann – pointed out that farm land was exempt from the new 15% foreign buyer tax and questioned why this was the case.

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He also said he had recently had two classes from Kwantlen College visit his farm and he had been impressed with the students.

He also mentioned that 48% of land in the ALR is not used for farming which he felt was an alarming statistic.

Macky Banns – asked for an update on the recent meeting with Maple Ridge’s AAC. Bruce Bell said that 4 members of the Committee had attended and he was surprised how different the two Committees are. He said that Maple Ridge had many committee members who are not necessarily farmers, but supportive of farming. Focuses for the committee include creating a hub where farmers could sell their products and were actively promoting the True North Fraser brand. At the meeting the Committee had also talked about the pros and cons of allowing chickens in the urban area.

Dieter Geesing – mentioned two events. A Water Forum in Abbotsford on November 17th. Also a Network Forum on November 19th at the Abbotsford Campus of the UFV.

Mike Manion – told the Committee about the BC Agrifood and Seafood Conference taking place on November 14th and 15th in Kelowna. He also said that he had recently been invited to China to talk about technology in agriculture and the struggles that the Chinese are having with labour shortages on their farms. He said that the experience had been very interesting and was impressed with the marketing efforts.

Kate Zanon – asked the Committee if they would be available to attend the meeting in December if there were enough items to be discussed.

AdjournmentThe meeting adjourned at 11:48am.

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ATTACHMENT A

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