Concern over the state of agricultural lands within Rocky View County (RVC) prompted the Action for Agriculture group to send a letter to the Minister of Municipal Affairs on Feb. 10, requesting the actions of RVC council be monitored to ensure compliance with the County Plan.
The organization recently celebrated its 25th anniversary and, according to Action for Agriculture President Harvey Buckley, was initially formed to advocate for the preservation of agricultural lands within RVC and for “good common sense planning.”
“Our present council, as my letter states, doesn’t adhere to their own plan,” Buckley said. “We supported that plan when it went through the process, but they move outside of the plan whenever the need arises. They don’t seem to understand governance at all.”
The County Plan was approved in 2013, and according to Buckley, provided a “balanced approach” to retaining viable farm and ranch lands in working landscapes, while allowing some conversion of agricultural lands to other uses. However, he said the “development mindset” of the majority of the current RVC council has raised concern.
“There are a lot of farmers and ranchers out there who want to continue to produce food, but it seems our organization’s goals of preserving agricultural pursuits is becoming more and more challenging,” Buckley said. “Our food chain is getting shorter and food security is a real issue.”
While RVC Reeve Greg Boehlke admitted agricultural lands don’t provide much revenue to the County in terms of taxation, they remain its largest source of land use – better than 90 per cent, he said.
“It’s an integral part of us and we can’t abandon it,” he said. “There are people out there who would like to see no development whatsoever, and while it’s important for people to tell their views on things, they should be accurate. And these are not.”
In the letter Buckley wrote he writes the “majority of councillors have stated ‘agriculture in Rocky View County is dead,’” which Boehlke argued is “ridiculous.” The implementation of the Agricultural Boundary Design Guidelines in November 2015, he said, were an important step to ensure any development within the county is as compatible as possible with any nearby agricultural lands.
“There is unrest in (RVC), there’s no doubt about it. It’s a phase we are going through, but I think that for the most part, people are happy here and recognize that this is a ‘rurban’ community,” Boehlke said.
“We have to look after every sector and agriculture is one of our main sectors to look after. Right now, we primarily develop in areas within the growth plans indicated within our County Plan, and we will continue to take our County Plan and the Agricultural Master Plan very seriously.”
