LEAR A Method for Determining Prime Agricultural Designations in Prince Edward County
Background The County of Prince Edward has been undertaking a comprehensive review of its Official Plan. The Province has requested Prince Edward County to review its designations of Prime Agriculture and Rural through the application of a LEAR Study.
Statutory Basis The need to identify Prime Agricultural areas is based on the Provincial Policy Statement (PPS), 2014 issued under Section 3 of the Planning Act: 2.3.1 Prime agricultural areas shall be protected for long-term use for agriculture. Prime agricultural areas are areas where prime agricultural lands predominate. Specialty crop areas shall be given the highest priority for protection, followed by Canada Land Inventory Class 1, 2, and 3 lands, and any associated Class 4 through 7 lands within the prime agricultural area, in this order of priority. 2.3.2 Planning authorities shall designate prime agricultural areas and specialty crop areas in accordance with guidelines developed by the Province, as amended from time to time.
Land Evaluation and Area Review (LEAR) is the primary method recognized and accepted by the Province for completing reviews of Prime Agricultural and Rural designations. Provincial guidelines for to be used, A Guide to Land Evaluation and Area Review (LEAR) System for Agriculture
Stages to Developing Prime Agricultural Designations Main Criterion: Evaluated areas (i.e. LEAR) have a predominance of CLI Soil Classes 1, 2, and 3 as per PPS, including associated areas of farming concentration. Identify significant (large acreages) and contiguous Blocks of Prime Agricultural lands; Demarcate Blocks of Prime Agricultural lands by way of recognizable features, such as roadways.
LEAR Steering Committee Provincial LEAR guidelines direct that a LEAR Steering Committee be established by the municipality. Representatives of the agricultural community who have local knowledge (soils and farming practices) sit on the LEAR Committee and assist in the adaptation of the LEAR guidelines. A representative of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) must also sit on the Committee. The County also relied on the retained consulting services of Mr. Jim Dyment, RPP then of MHBC Planning Ltd. and his associate Mr. Dave Hodgson, a qualified agrologist of DBH Soil Services.
So, what is LEAR? In general terms, LEAR is an objective and systematic approach to assessing lands for determining its potential to form a Prime Agricultural designation. LEAR is an acronym representing two components of assessment: Land Evaluation (LE) and Area Review (AR). Each part contributes up to a maximum of 100 points towards an ideal total agricultural score of 200 points per evaluation unit. LE + AR = Total Score Areas having a high score are candidates for a Prime Agricultural designation.
Scope of the Study Area The evaluation is generally applied to all rural areas with some exceptions. In the Prince Edward County LEAR Study, Urban, Aggregate, Hamlet and Shore Land designations, and publicly owned lands including provincial and federal lands were not subject to LEAR evaluations.
LEAR - LE Component The LE component analyzes information presented in the Canada Land Inventory (CLI) system of Soil Capability for Common Field Crops. Areas of good soil need to be measured distinctively from poor soils. First, a unit of evaluation needs to be chosen as a basis for scoring and ranking areas. For example, options can include: parcels of ownership the original Crown Lot blocks of land defined by road and road allowance patterns, or, other units that make for a consistent representation of lands to be scored based on soil classes. In Prince Edward County s LEAR Study, parcels of ownership were selected as the evaluation unit.
LEAR - LE Scoring Each parcel of ownership was given a score. As per LEAR, a rank weighting system was applied. For example, a maximum of 100 points is scored for Class 1 soil, Class 2 soils is scored a weight of 0.9 points, Class 3 soils is scored a weight of 0.8 points, etc. For all parcels in the study area of the County, the LE scores were tallied. For example, a 100-acre parcel of land with 50 acres of Class 1 soils (1.0 weight) and 50- acres of Class 3 soil (0.8 weight) would be given a score of 1.0 x 50-acres (50 points) + 0.8 x 50-acres (40 points) for a Total of 90 points.
LEAR - AR Component The Area Review part of the LEAR formula measures the capability of a parcel for agricultural uses based on four factors that are individually scored. The factors function as mitigating considerations: 1. Large Parcel Size to a maximum of 12.5 points 2. Currently farmed if yes, 50 points, if not 0 points 3. Percent of the parcel that is farmed to a maximum of 25 points 4. Number of conflicting land uses within 1,000 metres to a maximum of 12.5 points for a parcel with no conflicting uses
LEAR - AR Component The number of points or weight assigned to each factor reflects decisions made by the Steering Committee. This flexibility in the LEAR methodology serves to tailor the study to local conditions in each municipality. A strong reliance on utilizing GIS data and aerial imagery is needed.
Total Scores A principal determination was the threshold value (total score) that would rank a parcel as a candidate for either the Prime Agricultural designation or the Rural designation. Again, after some testing and public feedback, the threshold value chosen by the Committee was 140. Scores greater than or equal to 140 points qualify as prime agricultural, provided the LE (soil) score was greater than or equal to 70 points. Parcel scores below LEAR 140 and LE 70 were considered to be rural rather than prime agricultural.
LEAR Scoring
Calibrations, Refinements and Reiterations Significant testing and re-testing of scoring weights was required to offer representativeness of areas of known as good farming before the Committee accepted the weightings in the final LEAR formula.
Calibrations, Refinements and Reiterations According to the OMAFRA guidelines, the minimum numerical weight given to the land evaluation (LE) factor is 50 percent. LEAR Steering Committees may choose a higher relative weighting. Steering Committees may also adjust the relative weights of each Soil Class, e.g. assign the same weight to each of Class 1 and Class 2 or other considerations based on local knowledge. Similarly, the Committee worked to find appropriate weightings for the AR Component, in context with Provincial guidelines.
Calibrations, Refinements and Reiterations Through Committee feedback, the CLI Soils mapping was determined to be useful but perhaps subject to inaccuracies in some areas. The LEAR consultant and agrologist visually inspected certain priority areas to the extent permitted by study resources. MPAC soils data were investigated by staff and determined to be quite accurate in many cases. The Committee chose to utilize MPAC soil data in order to assist in interpreting CLI Soils mapping. MPAC data proved very useful for both the LE and AR components.
Calibrations, Refinements and Reiterations Remote crop sensing data (AAFC) were used to identify where common crops were produced in 2015. Canada Land Inventory data were updated using OMAFRA LiDAR technology to aid in improving accuracy of the LE scores.
Blocks and Boundaries the Prime Agricultural Designation Parcels evaluated to have scores qualifying for a Prime agricultural designation were mapped into consolidated Blocks of land. Due to the predominance test, the Province advised that Blocks of large areas were to be in the neighbourhood of 250 hectares (600 acres) or larger. The soils in TheCounty are quite variable and the Committee and the public had difficulty in understanding the Block approach. Within a Block, significant areas of poor soils could be found and conversely, areas outside of the Prime Agriculture Block had significant areas of good soils. LEAR guidelines permit smaller Blocks to reflect local circumstances. The LEAR Committee accepted 150 ha as an appropriate Block area to better reflect variable soil conditions.
LEAR Scores Revised with Compensation Factors and Updated Soil Data
Community Consultation A total of four public Open Houses were held over a period of time, beginning in October 2016 through to March 2018. Public turn-out was always good. Community input influenced the LEAR Study significantly, including: the relative weighting of scores the lowering of the minimum Block size determinations the choosing of boundaries used to demarcate the Prime Agriculture designation.
Final Block Designations
Next Steps In March, County Council motioned to send the draft Official Plan, including the Prime Agricultural and Rural designations mapping, to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs for One-Window review. Stay Tuned!
Acknowledgements Presented materials included excerpts from the reports drafted by: Mr. Jim Dyment, RPP, Consultant Mr. Bernard Shalka, County Official Plan Project Manager Mr. Grant Hopkins, County GIS Coordinator
Questions?