City of Surrey. Agricultural Advisory Committee Minutes. Regrets: S. Van Keulen N. Kalid. Environmental Advisory Committee Representative: R.

Transcription

1 City of Surrey Agricultural Advisory Committee Minutes Executive Boardroom City Hall Avenue Surrey, B.C. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2004 Time: 9:00 a.m. Present: Mike Bose - Chair D. Arnold P. Harrison M. Hilmer G. King Councillor M. Hunt Regrets: S. Van Keulen N. Kalid Environmental Advisory Committee Representative: R. Wetzel Staff Present: T. Hoff, Planning & Development R. Dubé, Engineering L. Pellegrino, Planning & Development K. Swaele, Legislative Services Agency Representatives: K. Zimmerman, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries & Food Tony Pellett, Land Reserve Commission A. ADOPTION OF AGENDA agenda: Moved by Councillor Hunt Seconded by P. Harrison That the following items be added to the Under New Business, Item D 3. Buffering of Non-Agricultural Use on Agricultural Land at Street Under New Business, Item D 4. Impact on roads during Wet Harvest, and that the agenda be adopted as amended. B. ADOPTION OF MINUTES Moved by D. Arnold Seconded by M. Hilmer That the minutes of the Agricultural Advisory Committee meeting held on September 2, 2004, be adopted. T. Pellett arrived 9:10 a.m. h:\aac\minutes\2004\10074aac.min.doc Page 2

2 C. BUSINESS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES 1. August 12, 2004 Sewage Spill at Highway 10 & 168 Street R. Dubi of the Engineering Department presented a memorandum dated September 28, 2004 from the Environmental Coordinator, which summarized the report from the Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD) concerning the August 12,2004 Sewage Spill at Highway 10 and 168 Street. The memorandum summarized the Envirowest report as follows: Raw sewage exerts a heavy load on Dissolved Oxygen (DO), and as expected the DO was extremely low to non-existent within the immediate spill area. On August 23, 2004 following channel dewatering, all but one of the DO readings was below the acceptable limit for freshwater life. That this may suggest that some sewage contaminated water did reach the 48 th Avenue Nicomekl Pumpstation. That all temperatures recorded during the three sampling events were above the acceptable limit for freshwater life of 17 degrees Celsius and should be considered lethal (but normal for the season). Conductivity- results were indicative of sewage presence. All PH readings were within acceptable limits for freshwater life. Ammonia/ Nitrogen - slightly elevated within the sewage surcharge area, but not extreme. Total Coliform (TC) was extremely high in the surcharge area as anticipated. Probable numbers dropped off towards the 48 th Avenue Nicomekl Pumpstation, but indicated sewage presence down to the Nicomekl River. The Environmental Coordinator concluded in his memorandum: Water quality data, such as Dissolved Oxygen and Total Coliform collected by Envirowest suggests some raw sewage likely reached the 48 th Avenue Nicomekl Pumpstation. That the high levels of E. coli and Total Coliform would have made the waters unusable for irrigation, but local blueberry crops had already been harvested. No fish upstream of the Nicomekl River should have been harmed by the release, as the water contained within the channel was most certainly not habitable to fish or most other freshwater life due to the extremely high seasonal water temperatures. Neither the admission of sewage reaching the Nicomekl River nor the water quality ramifications were scoped into the Envirowest water quality monitoring study. That the GVRD should outline what is being done to ensure the technical difficulties experienced during the August 12, 2004 event do not occur again. That while the surcharging of sanitary sewage into a drainage/irrigation channel with fisheries values is certainly cause for concern, it appears that the quick response by the GVRD contained most of the surcharged sewage and minimized any environmental damage. The Agricultural Advisory Committee discussed the memorandum and noted: h:\aac\minutes\2004\10074aac.min.doc Page 3

3 That one of the concerns is that the City of Surrey was not notified and this has been brought up at the GVRD Environmental monitoring system. That there have been other instances of surcharges where the City has not been notified, and this is considered to be a major issue. That the GVRD appears to have failed to follow protocol, which is a major concern for the City of Surrey. That the GVRD appears to feel that this type of issue is insignificant and that it can be stopped on the agricultural land, which is not what is happening. R. Dubi of the Engineering Department noted: That the control point used to compare Dissolved Oxygen readings with the spill area had worse readings than the spill area. That staff are taking readings up the Cloverdale Canal to determine where this is originating. That when talking to the GVRD engineers on the field, they did not seem to feel the spill was a big issue. That contractual issues on the facility have been sorted out and completion is scheduled for March Moved by Councillor Hunt Seconded by P. Harrison That the Chair of the Agricultural Advisory Committee send a letter to the Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD) referencing the report from Envirowest on the Sanitary Sewage Surcharge on August 12, 2004, noting the conflicts between the Envirowest Report and the information provided to the City by the GVRD Work Plan The Agricultural Advisory Committee provided the following suggestions for a 2005 Work Plan: That the GIS database be expanded to map microclimates in the City of Surrey, which might highlight some other opportunities within those areas. That the City consider producing Surrey-specific guidelines for returning overworked land to an arable state. That guidelines for good soil management could be used by people wishing to get into family type farms, and an excellent Surrey-specific resource for existing farmers. That the City has a number of buffers and environmental greenways which should be looked at and properly designated. That proper designation of greenways would provide the public with more understanding as to what they are, and highlight their importance. h:\aac\minutes\2004\10074aac.min.doc Page 4

4 That the Agricultural Advisory Committee may want to look at a program where postcards are sent to those who work agricultural land, and which provide a rating system giving accolades to those who are doing a good job and being good stewards of the land. That the postcards would provide a rating system for things such as cleanliness, weed control, parking of vehicles, and suggestions for those who may need to be prompted to present a more tidy surrounding. That the Agricultural Advisory Committee look at ways of being more involved in community events such as the Rodeo, Blueberry Festival, Dyking District Annual General Meetings, etc. to raise the visibility of the Committee, what it does and what it offers to the City of Surrey. That the Agricultural Advisory Committee look at a program targeted to school children to raise awareness of agriculture, similar to the GVRD Agriculture in the Classroom program. That the School District should be approached to include agricultural workplace programs into the 30 hours of co-op work required for graduation. That the Agricultural Advisory Committee should continue working with City staff to develop by-laws and guidelines for building envelopes to attempt to protect the agricultural land and avoid the dumping of fill. That the Committee should continue to work with the By-laws & Licensing Department to help strengthen and enforce by-laws which affect agricultural land and the commercial use of agricultural land. G. King expressed appreciation to the Parks Department by noting that he was very impressed with a recent incident where a tree from the greenway had fallen on his property. The Parks Department dealt with all trees in the area that may be dangerous to his residence and made them secure by topping and making them bird friendly. T. Hoff, Planning and Development noted: That next week staff will be driving the community and conducting a review of agricultural lands to create a database. That the Committee may want to look at what practical use can be made of this information, such as trends and opportunities. That it had been mentioned that the Agricultural Tour might be changed to a different type of event. That changing of the format for the Agricultural Tour will take up a considerable amount of Committee and staff time. That if the Agricultural Advisory Committee wishes to change the format for the Agricultural Tour, it should look at how it would like this to happen. That the Committee may wish to change the tour to make it shorter with a dinner event recognizing individuals and farmers who are providing good examples of things such as sharing the fenceline. The Agricultural Advisory Committee agreed that it will review the list at the November meeting to prioritize the items and have a 2005 work plan in place by December. h:\aac\minutes\2004\10074aac.min.doc Page 5

5 D. NEW BUSINESS 1. Revised Agricultural Land Commission Act and Regulations Memorandum and supplemental information from Long Range Planning and Policy Development Division responding to the Agricultural Advisory Committee s recommended amendments to the Zoning Bylaw based on changes to the new Agricultural Land Commission Act. The Agricultural Advisory Committee had recommended the following changes to the Zoning By-law: 1. Explore allowing the sale of dressed meats/poultry if killed and packaged off site. 2. Harmonize the minimum retail area which must feature product produced by the farm operation in the By-law with the Act. 3. Create a definition for Agri-tourism that is consistent with the Act and insert it into the agricultural zones as a permitted use. 4. Insert horse riding, training, and boarding, complete with the corresponding Act requirements, as a permitted use in the agricultural zones. 5. Clarify that Kennels mean both commercial and hobby. 6. Allow composting in agricultural zones provided it is part of, or ancillary to, the farm operation and limit the size of the facility. Also, consider whether or not the operation should be enclosed (to be further reviewed). The Long Range Planning and Policy Development Division provided a draft amendment to the Zoning By-law which responds to the Agricultural Advisory Committee recommendations. The Agricultural Advisory Committee discussed and reviewed the changes and noted some minor editing changes and clarification of some of the definitions. The Committee asked that the changes and clarifications be included in the draft and brought back to the Committee for a final review. 2. Exclusion from ALR: OCP Amendment to Industrial Rezoning from A-1 to IB to Allow Future Development of an Industrial Business Park Akonyu Akolo, Planner reviewed the proposed amendment to the industrial zoning of property at nd Street which includes exclusion of 30 acres of agricultural land. The Planner noted: That the property is located across from BC Hothouse. That in analyzing it within the Policy for considering Application for Exclusion of Land from the Agricultural Land Reserve, it does not meet criteria adopted by Council. That the proposed use will result in the loss of agricultural land, and has potential for speculative pressures on the nearby ALR lands. That the proposed use can be accommodated in other non-agricultural areas. h:\aac\minutes\2004\10074aac.min.doc Page 6

6 That there are other alternative sites designated, under review or suitable for business park developments in various areas of the City such as Campbell Heights and the Highway No. 99 Corridor area. That the proposal may have impacts on the adjacent agricultural lands, and no specific actions have been proposed to mitigate any impact. That the soil is classified as 4, but has the capability of being raised to 3. The Agricultural Advisory Committee reviewed the proposed exclusion and felt that the property is still a viable blueberry farm, and the application should not be supported. Moved by G. King Seconded by P. Harrison That the Agricultural Advisory Committee recommends to the General Manager, Planning and Development that the application to amend the Official Community Plan from Agricultural to Industrial Rezoning from A-1 to IB for development of an industrial business park at nd Street be denied G. King left the meeting at 10:25 a.m. 3. Buffering of Non-Agricultural Use on Agricultural Land at Street D. Arnold noted that a public hearing notice has been received for development of a 36-bed Alzheimer/dementia center with an adult daycare and resource center on this property. Mr. Arnold commented: That a 10 to 12 foot high buffer has already been removed and he is concerned with complaints about his farm operation. That as the development is on agricultural land, there are no restrictions on tree removal. That his farm operation is now exposed, and there will be 26 families up hill, who are able to directly view his property. That some of his farm operation occurs over night, and there will be 10 semitrailer trucks parked, with motors running, while they wait to be loaded. That this will may an impact on neighbouring residents. The Agricultural Advisory Committee recommended: That Council request a denser buffer than is normally requested in developments such as this, on the north face of the property which abuts 66 th Avenue. That despite this being a non-agricultural use on agricultural land, a restrictive covenant be placed on the development to reduce the number of complaints that may be received from residents. h:\aac\minutes\2004\10074aac.min.doc Page 7

7 The Committee noted that in future, the matter of non agricultural use in agricultural land, could be an issue which will need a policy. The foregoing recommendations on the development at Street were not put to a motion. Due to a conflict of interest, D. Arnold would have been required to absent the meeting for the vote. If Mr. Arnold had left the meeting, quorum would have been lost, so the motion would not have been valid. Mr Arnold will write his concerns to Council for the Public Hearing. 4. Impact on roads during Wet Harvest The Chair advised that he had received a phone call regarding harvesting of corn in Clayton heights, and the impact this had on the roads during the rain. The Chair noted: That if it rains during harvesting, there will be some mud on the roads. That residents wanted vehicles washed prior to leaving the agricultural property, which is impractical during a harvest. That it was suggested the farmer hire a street sweeper once a day to clean the roads, but agriculture cannot afford this type of cost. That the By-law Department was very good, and the farmer agreed to get as much of the dirt as possible off the road, using a front-end loader. The Agricultural Advisory Committee asked that this matter be looked into and more information provided so that they can address the issue and perhaps look at ways of mitigating future difficulties. E. ITEMS REFERRED BY COUNCIL F. CORRESPONDENCE 1. Surrey Social Futures Forming a Surrey Food Policy Council Correspondence of September 2, 2004 seeking persons interested in forming a Food Policy Council. Moved by M. Hilmer Seconded by D. Arnold That the correspondence be received. h:\aac\minutes\2004\10074aac.min.doc Page 8

8 G. INFORMATION ITEMS 1. Council Resolutions July 28, 2004 Copy of memorandum of July 28, 2004 to the Environmental Advisory Committee. 2. Council Resolutions September 7, 2004 Memorandum of September 8, 2004 from Legislative Services. Moved by Councillor Hunt Seconded by P. Harrison That the information items be received. H. OTHER COMPETENT BUSINESS The Chair reported that he is now sitting on the Surrey Memorial Hospital Foundation. The Chair reported on the Langley Farm Tour, which he enjoyed, and found interesting. D. Arnold reported on the Richmond Farm Tour and the Chilliwack Farm Tour, both of which were interesting and informative. I. NEXT MEETING The next meeting of the Agricultural Advisory Committee is scheduled for November 4, 2004, but may be changed due to schedule conflicts. The Chair will discuss this with the Administrative Assistant. J. ADJOURNMENT meeting do now adjourn. Moved by Councillor Hunt Seconded by D. Arnold That the Agricultural Advisory Committee The Agricultural Advisory Committee adjourned at 11:30 a.m. Margaret Jones, City Clerk Mike Bose, Chair Surrey Agricultural Advisory Committee h:\aac\minutes\2004\10074aac.min.doc Page 9