KAMLOOPS, B.C. – British Columbia’s Agricultural Land Commission has turned down an application from a Kamloops development company to build a resort with a golf course and townhouses on ranch-land.
Commission chair and general manager Kirk Miller said the provincial cabinet chose not to invoke a special clause, which would have taken the decision away from the commission on the grounds the development project was in the provincial interest.
“It was not declared to be in the provincial interest and we made a decision on the application which was before us,” said Miller.
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“Our understanding is that the provincial cabinet now cannot declare the land exclusion and non-farm use aspect of this project as being in the provincial interest.”
Ideal ranchland
The application was for the exclusion of 336 acres, including some of the best ranchland in the Thompson-Nicola Regional District, according to Miller.
Many agricultural proponents worried if the province invoked the special clause, it would have sent a message to land speculators and farmers that the government was getting soft on protecting farmland.
Many predicted the gradual dismantling of the agriculture commission’s mandate and a rash of land reserve exclusion applications from fruit growers in the Okanagan Valley would flow from a provincial decision to override the commission’s authority.
Only two percent of B.C.’s land is considered suitable for agriculture. While the recent decision may stall the planned resort, the project’s supporter has not surrendered.
One more chance
Mike Grenier, president of Pagebrook Inc., said his company’s legal interpretation of the commission decision allows for one final shot at salvaging the project through the provincial interest clause in the provincial Agricultural Land Reserve legislation.
The clause would allow for public hearings to determine the extent of provincial interest and economic benefit to the province and the Kamloops area in particular.
The project was to include an equestrian centre and 200-head cattle operation on 237 acres of hayfields and open pasture. A country and western theme was also to be part of the overall development of the resort and golf course. Grenier predicted the project would create 400 jobs to boost the Kamloops economy.
Grenier also disagreed with the commission’s contention that the land involved is of excellent farming value.
“Most of it is on difficult soil and terrain but we are keeping the most productive parts for the cattle operation,” he said.
