The first of many signs

at least it's not a For Sale sign.

This sign reflects rejection of Coldstream Council's plan to rezone lands under their Agriculture Plan.
And you'll soon see more of them all over Coldstream.
Especially on properties affected by the before/after here: 

Whatever property rights acreage owners felt they had previously, those rights will be abrogated with the adoption of the new Zoning Bylaw Amendment 1597, 2011 and Official Community Plan Amendment 1584 concerning everything from buffering requirements adjacent to your lands with the two new zones Council is creating, which include the contentious Home Plate requirements...you know, the requirement that you, as property owner, cannot plunk your new home smack in the center of land you paid for...it has to be off to one side so that farming isn't cut-up.

Makes you wonder whose name is on the mortgage, doesn't it?

Council's penchant to encourage conventional versus hobby farming goes way beyond what residents of Coldstream want this Mayor and Council to do.  At least what Coldstream's acreage owners want.

So, are we seeing Coldstream's governance turned over to urbanites?
Perhaps it is, as only one councillor is a farmer--and then only a hobby farmer, as the majority of his income comes from off the property.  Even the appointed Ag Committee--with few exceptions--is made up of non-farmers.

Shame on you and your property if it's less than 4 ha in size:   "The 2006 Agricultural Census states that 9,466 of BC’s 19,844 farms reported less than $10,000 in gross farm receipts and that 5,335 were less than four hectares in size (Statistics Canada 2006)."  Full 18-page report here

"...researchers and policy-makers alike should question why so many people favour protection of agricultural land as a matter of principle," states the report, with nary a mention of Not-In-My-Backyard-ism.

"The growth in the number of hobby farms might be a positive development if the purpose of agricultural land protection is to slow development and retain open space and if hobby farming is not a first step towards the urbanization of agricultural land. If, on the other hand, the purpose of the ALR is to help support a viable farm economy, growth in hobby farming could be considered a step in the wrong direction as it could exert pressure on farmland values within the ALR, thereby making it difficult for conventional farmers to increase their land base and achieve economies of scale."

If you believe that sentence, I've got a nice 1973 Mazda for you.

Noteworthy is the report's statement:  "We observe that conventional farm parcels inside the ALR are worth $84,670 less per ha than conventional farm parcels outside the ALR, while the opposite is true for hobby farms – they are worth $87,800 more per ha if located in the ALR than outside it.  Outside the ALR, we find that hobby farms are worth $82,310 less per ha than conventional farms. Inside the ALR, however, hobby farms are worth more than conventional farm parcels by $90,160 per ha. It would appear from this that hobby farmers pay a premium for ALR land and, as a result, drive up prices inside the ALR. All prices are expressed in real 2005 Canadian dollars." 

So this Mayor and Council are going to make farmland sizes LARGER.
It'd never twig on this Mayor and Council that demand creates pricing...the demand for 30 hectare farms is much lower than 4 hectare parcels.  Just like 1 acre parcels are desirable...because so few exist and are on the market at any given time.  We won't even go into crop returns...as that's one thing government hasn't managed to control...yet.  Fortunately there isn't a marketing board for forage!

Hobby farmers pay a premium for ALR land?  And drive up prices inside the ALR? 
Wishful thinking on the part of councils.

Another excerpt, this one in the "Duh" category:  "Parcel size also seems to be an important factor. From the probit model, we see that as parcel size increases, the probability that the farm parcel is used for hobby purposes declines significantly regardless of location inside or outside the ALR."

Council obviously didn't read this part:  "...our study indicates that incentives created by farm assessment and taxation policies may raise farmland prices, making it more difficult for conventional farmers to expand their operations to achieve economies of scale."


Careful, report authors!  You'll soon have Coldstream's Mayor and Council work to reduce property tax incentives for farmland.

On page 14:  "Although we might not be able to put an exact number on hobby farm prices inside and outside the ALR, we can be confident that hobby farmers pay higher prices inside the ALR and lower prices outside the ALR compared to conventional farmers..."

Confidence.
Lots of that on Coldstream Council.
Not a hell of a lot to support it, though.

"Would I buy a 74 acre farm?" muses Kia, immediately replying "maybe if it were really cheap."

You won't have long to wait.