Committee Members Present: Councillor B. Falk (Chair); M. Banwait; T. De Jong; M. Dykshoorn; M. Janzen; S. Kahlon; F. Keis; M. Meier; and D.

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1 September 14, 2016, at 10:02 a.m., in Room 530 of Abbotsford City Hall Committee Members Present: Councillor B. Falk (Chair); M. Banwait; T. De Jong; M. Dykshoorn; M. Janzen; S. Kahlon; F. Keis; M. Meier; and D. W iebe Staff Present: General Manager, Planning & Development Services - S. Bertelsen; General Manager, Engineering & Regional Utilities - P. Sparanese (part); Director, Development Planning - D. Braun (part); Director, Community Planning - M. Neill (part); Director, Project Management Office - R. Isaac (part); Manager, Bylaw Services - M. Laljee (part); Senior Planner, Development Planning - B. Collins (part); Planner, Community Planning - A. Anaka (part); Planner, Community Planning - M. Dickinson (part); Planner, Development Planning - L. Irvine (part); Assistant Manager, Bylaw Services - N. Sidhu; and Recording Secretary - N. Melnikov Others Present: Councillors S. Blue, M. Gill, and R. Siemens (part); K. Sutherland; H. Sasaki, Consultant, Agri-Saki Consulting Inc. Public Present: :!: 6 1. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 10:02 a.m. Moved by D. Wiebe, seconded by F. Keis, that the item under 7.1 be moved ahead of item on the agenda ADDIAC CARRIED 2. ADOPTION OF MINUTES.1 Minutes of the Agriculture, Dyking, Drainage and Irrigation Advisory Committee meeting held July 13, 2016 ( ) Moved by T. De Jong, seconded by M. Banwait, that the minutes of the Agriculture, Dyking, Drainage and Irrigation Advisory Committee meeting, held July 13, 2016, be adopted. ADDIAC PRESENTATIONS 4. DELEGATIONS 5. BUSINESS OUT OF MINUTES

2 September 14, 2016, at 10:02 a.m., in Room 530 of Abbotsford City Hall Page 2 7. NEW BUSINESS.1 AgRefresh Stage 1 Draft Background Research Report - Community Planning The Director, Community Planning, provided a brief overview of AgRefresh seeking Committee input to strategize next steps of the Project. Ag Refresh will be a three stage process which will include outlining new directions to reflect agriculture's role in Abbotsford, and new policy direction. Stage 1 of the Background Research Report includes a review of inventory and trends for agriculture in Abbotsford, summary of the Bylaw compliance assessment, trends and engagement findings; and sets the stage for new directions in Stage 2. The Director introduced H. Sasaki, Consultant, Agri-Saki Consulting Inc., to present findings of Stage 1 Background Research. Mr. Sasaki provided an overview of project deliverables including the legislative and regulatory framework, described current state of agriculture in Abbotsford, and presented issues regarding accessory agricultural uses and non-farm uses. The Manager, Bylaw Services explained that the purpose of the a bylaw compliance strategy is to provide a coordinated zoning and compliance approach for existing and future bylaw compliance issues, and to determine if contraventions are results of non-compliance, outd.ated and/or unclear policy, or regulation. She presented results of the Bylaw compliance assessment which identified potential contraventions, and outlined the limitations of the process. The Ministry of Agriculture representative added a comment that agricultural use land must be in the Agricultural Land Reserve otherwise there will be no protection by governments when complaints on agricultural activities (e.g. noise) are received. Mr. Sasaki presented the opportunities and challenges emphasizing the community input and the importance of the Abbotsford agricultural activity. He answered questions to the Committee and asked for their feedback to be provided by September 16, 2016, in order to present the information to Council on October 3, Moved by M. Dykshoorn, seconded by S. Kahlon, that the verbal report by the Director, Community Planning, the Consultant, Agri Saki Consulting Inc., and the Manager, Bylaw Services regarding the Stage 1 Draft Background Research Report - Community Planning, be received for information. ADDIAC

3 September 14, 2016, at 10:02 a.m., in Room 530 of Abbotsford City Hall Page 3 6. REPORTS 6.1 AGRICULTURE.1 Agricultural Land Commission application for a boundary realignment for the properties located at (Owners: Balbir & Baljit Khangura) and Avenue (Owner: Mount Lehman Fruit Growers ltd., Director: Baliit Khangura) ( /S15-034) The Planner provided an overview of the application involving two parcels within the Agricultural Land Reserve to allow a 12.38ha (30.5 acre) portion of O Avenue property to be added to Avenue to allow for a development of greenhouses on the proposed larger parcel and to continue berry farming on the smaller parcel. The realignment would result in two parcels measuring 28.32ha (70 acres) and 1.62ha (4 acres) in area. She noted that this is a revised boundary re-alignment proposal, and the first proposal under the same current application for a boundary realignment with creation of a 4ha (9.88 acres) property at O Avenue and 25.94ha (64 acres) property at Avenue was issued a preliminary letter of approval (PLA) by the Approving Officer as it was deemed to be a net benefit to agriculture. The applicant explained this revised layout and answered questions for the Committee. He noted that an operation of a smaller greenhouse (2 acres) has been active on one of the lots and the owner is interested in expanding the operations. If approved, the new ha (70 acres) lot greenhouse operations will be beneficial to the agriculture, and he noted that the lots of this size (70 acres) are hard to find. The Ministry of the Agriculture will favour a consolidation of the two existing parcels, but is not in favour of the application as submitted, as smaller rural residential properties are the majority of complainants in intensive farming areas. A few members of the Committee expressed their concern in regards to the timelines and the logistics of the proposal, as well as the smaller size of the new property to be created. They articulated concern that not enough information has been provided to the Committee regarding the application and that the members have the right to have the information as the change to the land is permanent. Moved by T. De Jong, seconded by F. Keis, that the Agriculture, Dyking, Drainage and Irrigation Advisory Committee recommend to Council that the Agricultural Land Commission application for boundary realignment for the properties located at and Avenue, not be supported. Opposed: S. Kahlon, M. Janzen, M. Banwait ADDIAC

4 Minutes of the Agriculture, Dyking, Drainage and Irrigation Advisory Committee meeting held September 14, 2016, at 10:02 a.m., in Room 530 of Abbotsford City Hall Page 4.2 Agricultural Land Commission application for non-farm use on the Agricultural Land Reserve for the property located at 2857 McDermott Road (Owners: Roy and Cheryl Groothof) (31OO/PRJ16-046) The Senior Planner, Development Planning, provided an overview of the non-farm use application to permit approximately 0.73ha (1.8 acres) of the 8.1ha (20 acres) property to be used for the continuation of a business consisting of a farm animal bedding storage and delivery business. This includes picking up manure from poultry farms in Langley, Chilliwack and Abbotsford and transporting to other farms for use as fertilizer, and pickup and delivery of animal bedding material coming from mills located in Surrey and Merritt. The applicant explained the application and noted that the property owner has operated the business since A Committee member, T. De Jong declared a family connection to the applicant and another member, M. Meier noted he is the applicant's neighbor. The General Manager, Planning and Development Services. explained that the members of the committees must declare to the committee when a conflict of interest exists, and excuse themselves from the meeting. Neither of the members declared a conflict of interest. Councillor Gill proposed that T. De Jong leave the meeting for the discussion of the application. T. De Jong left the room at 11 :45 a.m. The Ministry of Agriculture stated that the applicant is indeed providing a valued service to the farming community. However, they pointed out that the commercial/industrial businesses operating in the ALR have a tax advantage over their competitors operating in commercial and industrial zones, and that having commercial/industrial enterprises on farm land raise the price of farm land beyond what most farmers can afford to pay. The applicant answered questions for the Committee. The members of the Committee agreed that the service provided by the applicant is beneficial to the agriculture. Moved by S. Kahlon, seconded by D. Wiebe, that the Agriculture, Dyking, Drainage and Irrigation Advisory Committee recommend to Council that non-farm use on the Agricultural Land Reserve for the property located at 2857 McDermott Road, be supported. ADDIAC T. De Jong returned to the meeting at 11 :50 a.m.. 3 Agricultural Land Commission application for non-farm use on the Agricultural Land Reserve for the property located at 3387 Tolmie Road (Owners: C.P.M Farms Ltd., directors: Paul and Caroline Mostertman) (3040/A ) The Director, Development Planning provided an overview of the application proposing 40 weddings/banquets per annum within a new purpose built assembly building for events held between April 1st through October 30th with a typical event size of between people. The application has been made subsequent to the Stop Work Order issued by the Agricultural

5 September 14, 2016, at 10:02 a.m., in Room 530 of Abbotsford City Hall Page 5 Land Commission in September A subsequent non-farm use application has been submitted to the City. The applicant, who has been operating the farm for 35 years, explained the application and noted that the purpose of the activities proposed is to attract people to agriculture, to stay in business, and to provide education on agriculture. The Ministry of Agriculture stated that they generally discourage non-farm uses in the ALR, but the new regulation allows up to 10 gatherings with no more than 150 people, excluding residents and employees of the farm. They pointed out that the commercial/industrial businesses operating in the ALR have a tax advantage over their competitors operating in commercial and industrial zones. The applicant stated that historically 10 to 50 percent of the gross income for the farm has come from events, so having 10 events a year is not feasible economically. Moved by D. Wiebe, seconded by M. Meier, that the Agriculture, Dyking, Drainage and Irrigation Advisory Committee recommend to Council that the application for non-farm use on the Agricultural Land Reserve for the property located at 3387 Tolmie Road be deferred until the AgRefresh Project is completed. ADDIAC ADJOURNMENT Moved by M. Dykshoorn, seconded by D. Wiebe that the Agriculture, Dyking, Drainage and Irrigation Advisory Committee meeting be adjourned. (12:31 p.m.) Certified Correct: Natalia Melnikov Secretary