Saanich to implement a hefty application fee for ALR exemptions

If you are a Saanich property owner wishing to exclude some of your land from the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR), you will now pay nearly $4K, after council opted on Monday to start charging a fee to recover its application processing costs.

The ALR is a provincial designation which places agriculture as the priority use, encouraging farming and restricting non-agricultural uses. The ALR protects approximately 4.6 million hectares of agriculturally suitable land in BC.

Prior to the 2019 enactment of Bill 15-2019, private landowners were able to apply directly to the Agricultural Land Commission (ALC) to have their land excluded from the ALR. Beginning in October 2020, that was non longer the case.

The ALC now only accepts exclusion applications from provincial, First Nations, and local governments.

Since those changes, Saanich has acted on behalf of property owners and incurred the costs, which  include a $750 application fee payable to the commission, $1,200 for public notices and to hold a public hearing, staff time, gathering technical information and legal fees.

In 2021, a legal review indicated the District of Saanich was allowed to implement a fee to recover costs for all ALR exclusion applications. The fee is in line with similar District of Saanich application types, such as its rezoning application fee, whose base cost, according to Bylaw,2006, No. 8798, is $2K.

Not meant to dissuade landowners

Until now, the city has been covering these costs out of its general tax-based revenue stream.

“It’s not meant to deter property owners seeking to have land excluded—it’s just to balance the books,” said Saanich Mayor Dean Murdock. ”The new fee that’ll be attached appropriately reflects the cost in terms of staff time and the fee to apply to the Agricultural Land Commission in order to process these applications.”

He said, until now, no fee was required, “which means it is ­getting covered out of general revenue—that’s property-tax revenue to pay for what are land-use applications,” he said.

The new rules and protections of the ALR align with Section 7 of Saanich’s Community Operational Plan that states that the city will “not support applications for nonfarm uses and non-adhering residential uses in the Agricultural Land Reserve unless demonstrated that the proposed use would directly support and complement agriculture operations.”

Coun. Nathalie Chambers spoke to food security and the need to protect agricultural land in the area.

Saanich agreed, in the same meeting, to move forward a final ALR exclusion application under the old process and will hold a public hearing into the exclusion application for 4660 Elk Lake Dr., formerly Cannor Nursery, now the Wildwood Outdoor Living Centre.

Opposition from 2 councillors

Councilors Chambers and Judy Brownoff opposed the motion. Chambers, citing “land gobblers” such as the incursion of industrial uses, the rezoning of properties and the rural urban conflict suggested that “council does not have to re-zone or exclude ALR land from the ALR. We can say no and we have the power to do it.” Naming these concerns, she suggested they simply not forward applications onto the ACL at all.

In the face of valid concerns around land use, urban encroachment and food security expressed by Chambers, the admissibility of the applications was not what was up for debate.

Whether they agree with or approve them, Murdock said the district “is obliged to accept these applications, and taxpayers are effectively subsidizing this work because it has to happen regardless of the recommendation.”

Coun. Colin Plant pointed out the long standing motion to approve the fee. “The bylaw is largely being brought forward from a motion of council originating in 2021 asking [us] to do this. This, to me, is completely in alignment with the user-pay mentality we have and is being done in response to a previous council motion.”

In what could be called a wrench comment, Brownoff said: “I recognise that we could still send an application to the ALC with no recommendation,” insinuating that by doing so and creating additional administrative work for that body, the applications may not be processed at all.

She was reminded by staff that, under the ALR exclusion criteria, the ALC advises local governments that it independently and objectively supports and that exclusions should align with broader land-use policies. If they don’t, it doesn’t get forwarded to the ALC, placing the decision-making power back to local government.