Whereas the Agriculture Land Reserve ALR boundaries were established in the early 1970s, and no province-wide reviews have been conducted since that time in spite of technological progression and data maturity about the suitability of those boundaries; And whereas it is well known, particularly in rural areas of the province, that large areas of the ALR are unviable for agriculture, and conversely, some areas of high agricultural value were left out in the initial rush to delineate protected agricultural areas in BC, negatively impacting British Columbians confidence in the value and importance of the ALR: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM encourage the provincial government to mandate, appropriately staff, and fund both the ALC and regional districts to conduct a comprehensive, collaborative, data-driven, expeditious, province-wide review of the ALR boundaries to ensure the highest quality agricultural lands are protected for the next 50 years; And be it further resolved that appropriate lands unsuitable for agriculture be identified in collaboration with regional districts and member municipalities to allow for 20 years of growth, in alignment with provincial housing and land use mandates for local governments.
