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International
British Columbia's Agricultural Land Reserve Effective at Containing Urban Development
Created to protect some 4.7 million hectares (about 10.6 million acres) in the province's Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR), the independent Agricultural Land Commission (ALC) has recently rejected several requests for growth area expansion on Barnston Island and in Richmond, both south of Vancouver, and in Kamloops, 150 miles northwest, with Smart Growth B.C. Executive Director Cheeying Ho calling the ALR ''one of the best tools we have for urban containment.''
Prior to establishment of the ARL in the mid-1970s, the province had been losing almost 6,000 hectares (14,800 acres) to development each year, so its government appointed the ALC to curb the losses and foster long-term economic, environmental and social sustainability.
''The ALC is sending the right message, that provincial food security will not be threatened by inefficient urban planning at the community level,'' director Ho said. ''The greatest need of any community is the need to eat -- with BC's population on the rise we will need more farmland for food security in the future, not less,'' he stressed, adding, ''Fortunately, there are many opportunities for mixed-use development in areas that are already zoned for urban growth throughout BC.'' 9/26/2006
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