Central Saanich Council weighs benefits of rezoning agricultural land

Recent moves to revitalize Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) legislation allow landowners in Central Saanich to build and rent garden homes and secondary suites, but what does that mean for the protection of arable land—land suitable for crops—in the region?

Arable land is defined as lands where temporary crops or meadows exist for pasture for livestock, and in Central Saanich, it is protected and overseen by the Agricultural Land Reserve.

The province’s Homes for People program announced in April incentivizes homeowners to build secondary housing units on their property, with the goal being to help communities meet growing demands for affordable housing.

However, in places such as Central Saanich, homeowner participation in the program may also challenge efforts to fight rising food insecurity on the Island by removing protections for agricultural arable land from the ALR.

The Homes for People program allows 3,000 eligible homeowners to apply for forgivable loans of up to $40,000 to help pay construction costs for basement and garden suites or laneway homes on their property.

Central Saanich is looking to change zoning bylaws on the ALR to create flexible alternative income options for farmers and to allow all constituents to participate in the program.

Central Saanich was included on the list of 47 municipalities, specified in the Housing Act, to add additional housing, but it was not included in the first cohort of 10 municipalities that had to establish targets.

Coun. Sarah Ridell had this to say about hte proposed changes to the ALR, "I see the relaxing of restrictions as one of many strategies needed to address the significant shortage of safe and affordable rental units in our community.”

At the moment, Central Saanich’s agriculture zoning only allows for the inclusion of a secondary suite, defined as a self-contained unit with its own kitchen, bathroom and bedroom(s). As a result of provincial changes in legislation for the ALR, Central Saanich may consider allowing builds of up to three dwelling units on a single property, including a principal dwelling, a secondary suite in a principal dwelling, or a detached accessory dwelling, such as a cottage or a carriage house.

The proposed zoning changes  could affect more than 1,000 Central Saanich properties—487 are currently zoned as rural and 610 are currently zoned as strictly agricultural.

The ALR is a provincial designation in which agriculture is recognized as the priority use. The ALR protects roughly 4.6 million hectares of agriculturally suitable land across British Columbia. Oversight of the ALR falls to the Agricultural Land Commission whose mandate is to “encourage farming of land within the agricultural land reserve in collaboration with other communities of interest.”

Farming is a central part of Central Saanich’s rural character and history. Currently, 152 farms operate in Central Saanich and encompass some 1,084ha of agricultural land. On the Island, 10% of people are food insecure, meaning they lack consistent access to enough food to live a healthy life. Local growers could take more of a bite out of hunger in the region and make additional income if they were also incentivized and supported by the province to grow more food for households in need.

Food security means having a sustainable community food system that improves the health of the community, environment and individuals over time.

Major flooding and washouts on the Malahat in the aftermath of atmospheric rivers in the winter of 2021 revealed just how precarious food delivery and transport systems are on the Island. Reducing arable land in the farming and food hub of Central Saanich is hardly a no-brainer, and it’s why Central Saanich is consulting the public.

Constituents have been invited, by the district, to answer a survey which the municipality hopes will offer it direction in its quest to balance three very difficult—and in this case, related—issues: affordable housing, food security and finding alternative income options for local farmers. The deadline for taking the survey is Dec. 15.

Click here to find out more about local growers in Central Saanich.

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Correction: An earlier version of this article stated that Councillor Sarah Riddell supports the proposed changes to the ALR. The wording has been updated to say that relaxing restrictions is one of many strategies needed to address the housing shortage.