If you have questions on the latest changes to the Agricultural Land Commission Policy on residences in the Agricultural Land Reserve, here is a rundown.
Effective December 31, 2021, the ALR Use Regulation, s. 34.3 permits one additional residence if the following conditions are met:
At the time construction of the additional residence begins there is only one residence on the parcel; and
On a property 40 ha or less, once constructed there will be a principal residence with total floor area of 500 m2 or less and one residence with a total floor area of 90 m2 or less, if permitted by local government bylaw; OR
On a property larger than 40 ha, where there is a lawfully constructed principal residence*, one 186 m2 additional residence may be permitted, (if permitted by local government bylaw.
*a lawfully constructed principal residence refers to a residence that pre-dates the legislative changes made on February 22, 2019 under Bill 52 or a residence larger than 500 m2 as approved by the ALC and constructed with appropriate authorizations.
The regulations had previously contained provisions facilitating the construction of manufactured homes for immediate family members, accommodation above an existing farm building, or (in parts of the province) a second single family dwelling. These provisions are no longer found in the ALCA and the ALR Use Regulation, with the exception of some grandfathering protection for pre-existing structures of these kinds.
See the “Grandfathering Provisions” section for more information. In addition, the Commission may approve an application for these kinds of additional residences if necessary for farm use.
For more information: https://www.alc.gov.bc.ca/assets/alc/assets/legislation-and-regulation/information-bulletins/ib_05_residences_in_the_alr.pdf
To locate land that is designated ALR, you can look at the RDCK WebMap and apply the Agriculture Land Reserve map layer. A link to the WebMap is found on the Mapping page of the RDCK website. https://www.rdck.ca/EN/main/services/mapping-gis.html
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