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Home My WebLink AboutAAC 2019-06-27 agenda.pdfCity of Maple Ridge AGRICULTURAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE AGENDA Thursday, June 27, 2019 7:00 pm Blaney Room, Maple Ridge City Hall 1. CALL TO ORDER 2. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA 3. ADOPTION OF MINUTES – May 23, 2019 4. DELEGATIONS 4.1. Metro Vancouver – Options to regulate emissions from Cannabis Production Operations 4.2. Kwantlen Polytechnic – Land Use Exemption Application Research 5. QUESTION PERIOD 6. NEW AND UNFINISHED BUSINESS 6.1. Maple Ridge Food Hub 6.2. Funding Requests 6.2.1. CountryFest 6.2.2. KPU ISFS Research Support 6.3. Incorporation of Agriculture on City’s Website 7. SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS 7.1. Backyard Chickens 7.2. Food Garden Contest 7.3. Education 8. CORRESPONDENCE 9. ROUNDTABLE 10. ADJOURNMENT Next Meeting: September 26, 2019 Agenda Submission Deadline: September 12, 2019 QUESTION PERIOD Question Period provides the public with the opportunity to ask questions or make comments on subjects that are of concern to them. Each person will be given 2 minutes to speak. Up to ten minutes in total is allotted for Question Period. /ag City of Maple Ridge AGRICULTURAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES The Minutes of the Regular Meeting of the Agricultural Advisory Committee, held in the Blaney Room, at Maple Ridge Municipal Hall on May 23, 2019 at 7:05 pm. ____________________________________________________________________________________ COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT Councillor Gordy Robson City of Maple Ridge Councillor Ryan Svendsen City of Maple Ridge Bill Hardy, Chair Member at Large Al Kozak, Vice Chair Agricultural Sector Andrew Pozsar Member at Large Carla Schiller Agricultural Sector Ian Brooks Member at Large Michelle Franklin Member at Large Pascale Shaw Agricultural Sector Ryan Murphy Agricultural Sector STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT Amanda Grochowich Staff Liaison / Planning Department Amanda Allen Committee Clerk ABSENT Candace Gordon Haney Farmers Market Society Chris Zabek Regional Agrologist, Ministry of Agriculture Lorraine Bates Agricultural Fair Board 1. CALL TO ORDER 2. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA R/2019-021 It was moved and seconded That the May 23, 2019 Agricultural Advisory Committee agenda be approved as circulated. CARRIED 3. ADOPTION OF THE MINUTES R/2019-022 It was moved and seconded That the minutes of the Maple Ridge Agricultural Advisory Committee meeting dated April 25, 2019 be adopted. CARRIED 4. DELEGATIONS – Nil Agricultural Advisory Committee Minutes May 23, 2019 Page 2 of 3 5. QUESTION PERIOD Mary Robson provided information on the Friends In Need Food Bank perishable food recovery program. Ms. Robson advised that operations in the downtown facility should be completed by 2:00pm daily and discussion is underway with Vancouver Farmers Markets Direct for possible afternoon use of the facility. Ms. Robson answered questions from the committee. Note: Councillor Robson left the meeting at 7:17 pm and did not return. 6. NEW AND UNFINISHED BUSINESS 6.1. Farm Stand Directional Signage There was discussion on advertising farm food sales and how Booth in a Box could help map farm stands. The Chair and Ryan Murphy will meet with staff to further discuss next steps on communicating AAC support for a farm stand directional signage program. 6.2. Golden Harvest The staff liaison advised that Golden Harvest 2019 has been cancelled and the subcommittee is working to reimagine the program for 2020. Members were invited to join the subcommittee discussions on the new Golden Harvest format. 6.3. Prioritization of Agricultural Plan Action Items The Chair reported Booth in the Box work is underway and results of Metro Vancouver Agriculture Awareness grant application should be forthcoming. The Chair has identified a resource that could easily be adapted to fit a Maple Ridge Community Garden tool kit. 6.4. Backyard Chickens The staff liaison provided a high level overview of the program direction and advised a report will proceed to Council in June. There was discussion on the setbacks, lot size, and programs and models in other municipalities. R/2019-023 It was moved and seconded That the Agricultural Advisory Committee support the proposed direction of the backyard hen program for residential areas in Maple Ridge, ideally incorporating a smaller lot size similar to the City of North Vancouver and City of Surrey. CARRIED Agricultural Advisory Committee Minutes May 23, 2019 Page 3 of 3 7. SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS 7.1. Food Garden Contest The staff liaison reported several applications have been submitted and that the entry deadline is June 30, 2019. Members were encouraged to spread news of the contest and there was discussion to include community gardens as part of the 2020 Food Garden contest. 8. CORRESPONDENCE - Nil 9. ROUNDTABLE Members received verbal reports on local agricultural topics and activities and expressed interest in participating in a Farm Tour. 10. ADJOURNMENT – 8:31 pm. Bill Hardy, Chair /aa REQUEST FOR SUPPORT 2019 MAPLE RIDGE AGRICULTURAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE Organization NAME: Maple Ridge Pitt Meadows Agricultural Association Contact name: Lorraine Bates Contact address: P.O .Box 403 – Maple Ridge, B.C. V2X 8K9 Contact phone: 604-463-6922 Contact email: lorraine@mrpmcountryfest.com Incorporation number: S-19037 Previous committee grant: yes Date of last grant: 2018 Project Name: Backyard Farming Project start date: event runs July 27 – 28, 2019 Project description: Backyard Farming is a unique program within an agricultural fair that teaches our 20,000 visitors how to grow their own food. This year’s focus will be on Backyard chickens, with colleges/universities that offer agricultural programs and will be invited to participate. We have also contacted organizations that educate the public on sustainable agricultural in their own backyard which is a new and trendy idea. How Maple Ridge Agricultural Advisory Committee can help: Our budget for this project is $3,000 (cash and in kind) and we are requesting $1,200 from the MRAC to assist with these costs. Two $500 honorariums for Backyard Chickens and Duncan Martin (garden style chicken Coops) and $200 for signage, decorations etc Benefits to agriculture: Backyard Farming is unique, educational and visually attractive. This program invites inquisitive minds of all ages to enhance their understanding of why and what we grow; what we eat locally and what it takes to fill our dinner plates from our own backyards. The wide range of information that is offered brings agricultural and gardening techniques into a useable format for both urban and small plot rural land dwellers alike. Everyone walks away with new thoughts on how agriculture sustains us. Other sources of IN KIND support: Envision Financial (tents), Fraser Regional Corrections (manpower to set up and tear down area), Muldoons Nursery (flowers) Evaluation & monitoring plan: Each display/demonstrator will be asked to deliver an evaluation. Comment cards for public feedback and suggestions will be available. T 604.599.2100 kpu.ca MAILING ADDRESS 12666–72 Ave, Surrey, BC Canada V3W 2M8 Land Use Exemption Applications: Do successful non-farm use and subdivision applications support or detract from farm use of ALR land The Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) is the provincial land use regulation and designation enacted to protect agricultural land in British Columbia. The regulation identifies permitted farm uses as well as non-farm uses that support agriculture and our food system. While there has been concern over and substantial attention paid to the loss of prime agricultural land through removal of ALR designation, another potential threat to the long-term protection of agricultural land is its incremental loss and diminished production capacity over time due to permitted non-farm uses and land changes. Permitted non-farm uses may not, from the outset, enhance agriculture as proposed, or may over time cease contributing to agriculture and the food system as originally proposed/ intended. Either ultimately constitute an effective loss to the ALR, and may contribute to arguments for taking the land out of the ALR. Additionally, ALR parcel subdivision may lead to an increase in non-farm uses. In 2016 alone, there were over 200 applications to the Agricultural Land Commission for subdivision and non-farm use permits in BC. There is need to ascertain if permitted non-farm use and subdivision have resulted in the enhancement of the land for agricultural purposes, as proposed/ supposed, or if they led to further erosion of agricultural capacity and diminution of the ALR. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to review previously submitted and approved applications (1976-2018) to the Agricultural Land Commission (ALC) for land use exemption activities within the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) in select, representative Metro Vancouver municipalities (Richmond, Surrey, Delta, Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows and the Township of Langley) and evaluate whether these changes remain as originally approved, and if they have served to enhance or detract from agricultural use of the land. Results from this research will contribute to our current understanding of agricultural land use challenges and inform the development of municipal policy tools and resources to support efforts to assure the integrity of the ALR, preserve agriculture land for agriculture, and to advance sustainable regional food systems. Research questions (1) How many subdivision and non-farm use applications have there been and how many applications were approved? (2) Are lands for which applications were approved being used for agricultural purposes per the stated purpose in the approved application? Methodology (1) Secondary data on subdivision and non-farm use applications will be gathered from the Agricultural Land Commission (ALC) for the period between 1976 to 2018 (if available) for six agricultural municipalities in the Lower Mainland: Delta, Maple Ridge, Pitt Meadows, Richmond, Surrey and Township of Langley. ~ KPU I Institute for Sustainable Food Systems T 604.599.2100 kpu.ca MAILING ADDRESS 12666–72 Ave, Surrey, BC Canada V3W 2M8 (2) A windshield survey will be conducted to gather information on the current land and status of the subdivision and non-farm use permitted. Our intent, goal, is to assess every parcel for which a non-farm use or subdivision was approved over the last 10 years. Deliverable Complete report with municipality specific data and evaluations. Will include GIS map of all identified parcels having land use exemptions. Timeline Approximately 8 months Estimated Budget Project oversight/ management $5,000 (ISFS contribution) Student research assistants $15,000 Mileage $3,000 Report preparation/ print $300 (ISFS contribution) Cash required= $18,000. Requested contribution from each study municipality is $3,000. The Institute for Sustainable Food Systems (ISFS) is an applied research and extension unit at KPU that investigates and supports regional food systems as key elements of sustainable communities. ISFS applied research focuses on the potential of regional food systems in terms of agriculture and food, economic and community development, community health, policy, and environmental stewardship. ISFS extension programming provides information and support for farmers, communities, business, policy makers, and others. Community collaboration is central to the ISFS approach. The ISFS team is multi-disiplinary, bringing together expertise in- social science, economics, organic agriculture, agroecology, food systems, planning and policy, community health and nutrition, landscape architecture, farm business management and agriculture education. ~ KPU I Institute for Sustainable Food Systems