Richmond News
B.C. Green Party leader Andrew Weaver says his proposed bill to limit foreign ownership of protected farmland would not address much of the speculation occurring in Richmond.
“It doesn’t, and I acknowledge that,” Weaver told the Richmond News Tuesday.
That’s because his Oct. 6 proposal is to only ban such ownership on Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) parcels greater than five acres. According to the City of Richmond, there are 1,783 properties that are less than five acres, comprising 2,189 total acres (21 per cent of Richmond’s ALR land, according to the city). …
In May, council turfed a city staff recommendation to go with the provincial guidelines and instead listened to farmland owners who asked for larger homes in what Mayor Malcolm Brodie called a compromise.
Then, staff noted in a report to council that large homes due to relaxed building restrictions were inflating farmland prices, imperiling legitimate farm activity.