Saanich has tweaked a draft bylaw limiting the size of homes on agricultural land to accommodate housing projects that are already underway.
On Monday, council unanimously endorsed a bylaw amendment to allow projects that are already in-stream and exceed the new 400-square-metre (4,300 square feet) limit to proceed. After Jan. 1, 2025, all applications to build on agricultural land will have to comply with the 400-square-metre size restriction.
Coun. Karen Harper said it’s a question of fairness.
“I think we’re all aware of how long it can take to develop property and to bring forward plans,” she said. “So to surprise people who are very near the end is not a good thing. So this is a very good amendment.”
The bylaw, which was given three readings in October, is intended to slow the rise in farmland costs and encourage more food production. It affects about 2,600 properties.
A district staff report noted construction of large homes can lead to land fragmentation, reduce available arable agricultural land and encourage non-agricultural activities.
Large homes can also increase property value, making it difficult to acquire land for farming.
The Ministry of Agriculture and the Agricultural Land Commission have recommended limiting the size of a primary residence on farmland to 500 square metres, though many communities have opted to go lower.
Richmond, for example, has set the upper limit at 400 square metres. There are 2,665 properties in Saanich zoned for agricultural use, including 533 in the Agricultural Land Reserve.
Currently, homes and other structures are permitted to cover just 40 per cent of an agricultural-zoned property that is smaller than 2,000 square metres (21,500 square feet), while there is no coverage limit for parcels with a lot area greater than 2,000 square metres.
By comparison, in the rest of Saanich, depending on lot size, the maximum size of a single-family home varies from 261 square metres (2,800 square feet) to 1,000 square metres (10,764 square feet).
Most single-family homes in the district have a maximum size of 310 square metres or 3,337 square feet.
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