Changes in Bill 21 — the Agricultural Land Commission Act, 2002 (ALCA) and the new Agricultural Land Reserve Use, Subdivision and Procedure Regulation, BC Reg. 171/2002 which come into effect November 1, 2002.
 

New legislative provisions pertinent to the roles and responsibilities of approving officers include Section 18 of the ALCA and BC Reg. 171/2002, Sections 9, 10 and 11 "Part 5 — Permitted Subdivisions".

New section 18 of the Act replaces and modifies section 18 of the existing Agricultural Land Reserve Act. Section 18 (b) simplifies the wording but is unchanged in substance from the existing act.

The new ALR Use, Subdivision and Procedure Regulation contains a number of new provisions or provisions changed from BC Reg. 448/98, relevant to approving officers. These include the authority for the approving officer to approve the following:

• Section 10 (1) (a) — consolidation of 2 or more parcels into a single parcel;
• Section 10 (1) (b) — a subdivision which resolves a building encroachment on a property line and creates no additional parcels;
• Section 10 (1) (c) — a subdivision which involves not more than 4 parcels, each of which is at least 1 ha in area, provided all of the following are met:
  • there is no increase in the number of parcels resulting,
  • the boundary adjustment will allow, in the approving officer’s opinion, for the enhancement of the owner’s overall farm, or will allow for the better utilization of farm buildings for farm purposes, and
  • no resulting parcel in the ALR is less than 1 ha.
• Section 10 (1) (d) — a subdivision which establishes a legal boundary along the ALR, provided there is no encroachment upon the ALR by new road right-of-way or other subdivision requirements.

Under sections 10 (2) and (3) an approving officer must notify a person if a proposed subdivision is refused, and a person who is refused may apply to the Commission for permission.

Under section 11, if approved, the approving officer must endorse the plan of subdivision as required and provide a copy of the approved plan to the Commission.
 

The requirements for approving officers to approve a subdivision for farm purposes have been strengthened with new section 10 (1) (c). This section clarifies the requirements for approvals of subdivisions for farm related purposes, or for consolidation of ALR parcels, and will provide more certainty for approving officers and landowners in specified circumstances. These changes are intended to direct larger scale (i.e. more than 4 parcels) consolidation proposals to the Commission as subdivision applications under section 21 of the Act. The change is also intended to avoid the approval of a plan that creates building lots from small parcel remnants (i. e. less than 1 ha) through boundary adjustments, as is now sometimes occurring under the current regulation.

As is now the case in some regions, approving officers may wish to contact staff with the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries to determine if they can make arrangements to provide advice in determining if a boundary adjustment will enhance a farm operation or allow for better use of farm buildings for farm purposes.

Under the existing regulation, subdivision along the ALR boundary requires the approval of the Commission under a ‘Special Case’ application. The change in new section 10 (1) (d), to allow this subdivision without application, recognizes that almost all of these proposals were approved by the Commission. Approving officers are encouraged to continue to consider the provisions of section 86 (1) (c) of the Land Title Act when reviewing subdivision proposals.

Sections 10 (2) and (3) clarify that a person who is refused an approval by an approving officer under this section, may apply to the Commission for permission.

Section 11 (a) includes the requirement that the approving officer endorse the plan in a certificate acceptable to the Commission. This will be in the form similar to the Schedule to BC Reg. 448/98, except that the certificate should read: "I hereby certify that this subdivision plan is approved under Sections 10 and 11 of the Agricultural Land Reserve Use, Subdivision and Procedure Regulation."

Section 11 (b) is a new requirement. It requires the approving officer to forward a copy of a plan approved under sections 10 and 11of the regulation to the Commission. This provision is necessary to assist the Commission in record keeping and performance assessment for ALR lands.
 

The new legislation and regulation take effect November 1, 2002. Approving officers will be required to apply the new regulation to subdivision proposals in the ALR as of this date.
 

Local government approving officers, as well as provincial approving officers, must start applying the new regulation November 1, 2002. The new regulatory provisions are intended to be easier to interpret and administer and should remove uncertainty around which proposed consolidation plans may be approved by approving officers, without application to the Commission.