As the provincial government announced legislation to limit home sizes on B.C.'s agricultural land on Monday (November 5), Richmond councillor-elect Harold Steves isn’t wasting any time in getting the matter back on the table at a municipal level.
In fact, Steves has planned to bring up the matter at Tuesday afternoon’s general purposes committee meeting followed by a special council meeting, the day after the new city council is sworn in.
"The Election is over. Voters decided. We had 3 votes for 5,382 sq. ft. houses in the ALR instead of 10,764 sq. ft. Now we have 5," Steves said on Twitter, referring to his, Carol Day and Malcolm Brodie's votes in favour of limiting home sizes in May. New city councillors-elect Kelly Greene and Michael Wolfe are also expected to vote in favour of the 5,382 square foot home size limit.
MEGA-MANSIONS VOTE ON TUESDAY, 4PM Richmond City Hall.
— ClimateChange Steves (@Harold_Steves) November 4, 2018
The Election is over. Voters decided. We had 3 votes for 5,382 sq. ft. houses in the #ALR instead of 10,764 sq. ft. Now we have 5. Over 12,000 people watched the video, Please watch if you haven't already. PLEASE JOIN US https://t.co/CPgOueIsaU
Monday also saw movement from the provincial government on the issue of home sizes as legislation was introduced to clarify that agricultural land “is for farming and ranching in British Columbia, not for dumping construction waste or building mega-mansions.”
"The old government let wealthy speculators drive the price of farmland out of reach for young farmers and allowed some of our most valuable agricultural land to be damaged," said Lana Popham, Minister of Agriculture in a press release.
"We are protecting farmland in B.C. to ensure land is available now and for future generations of farmers, so people in British Columbia have a safe, secure supply of locally grown food on their tables for years to come."
If passed, Bill 52, or the agricultural land commission amendment, 2018, will include “addressing mega-mansions and speculation in the ALR by limiting new house sizes to less than 500 square metres (about 5,400 square feet).”
Applications will be accepted to the Agricultural Land Commission for exceptions to this limitation.
“Last year, the public learned about a farm in Richmond that was assessed at $85,000 and then it was sold for $9.2 million, more than a hundred times its value assessed for farm use,” Popham said during a press conference.
While Bill 52 has been tabled, it will now need to go through first, second and third readings, followed by a vote. The debate on Bill 52 will continue throughout the fall.
However, Steves is also seeking the same home size limit as the province at Tuesday's meeting.
Richmond News
