A Work in Progress - The British Columbia Farmland Preservation Program

Abstract

The passage of the Land Commission Act on April 18, 1973 is arguably one of the most important pieces of land use law passed by the British Columbia legislature. The Act, the first of its type in Canada, ushered in a program to preserve the province's limited but often highly valuable farmland resource. The Act has also had broader impacts. It has played a role in sustaining the economic and social benefits that have accrued from agriculture to every region of the Province. The program has helped to preserve the character of many communities, contributing to their health and livability and helped to maintain valued natural capital. The Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) has also shaped growth patterns over the last 30 years, by acting as a defacto urban growth boundary. In so doing it has contribute d to the development of more compact and efficient urban communities and provided an opportunity to address land use conflicts by ensuring a stable urban/agricultural 'edge'. The program is assisting the implementation of smart growth principles within urb an areas, which in turn contributes to farmland preservation.