Province moves to limit size of houses on ALR land

The provincial government has introduced legislation to place new rules on controversial mega-mansions on Agriculture Land Reserve (ALR) farmland.

If passed, houses onALRland will be limited to 5,400 square feet.

Last spring, the City of Richmondreduced the maximum size of a house on ALRland to 10,700 square feet.

"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 Agriculture Minister Lana Popham in a statement.

Under the current legislation passed by the former government, there are two zones of agricultural land with one land zone open for some non-agricultural development.

Popham says the amendments in a bill tabled Monday will eliminate the arbitrary two-zone division.

The amendments also include increased penalties for dumping construction debris and other wasteor fill materials on agricultural land that can damage soil and valuable farmland.

The ALR was established in 1973 to protect land with prime agricultural conditions for farming and ranching. It currently protects approximately 4.6 million hectares of arable land in B.C.

With files from the Canadian Press