Lantzville's Agriculture Committee

So far, Lantzville's Urban Agriculture Committee has met twice, and is going to meet again tomorrow evening at 7 pm.  So far, the meetings have been rather eventful, and Andrew Mostad and Angela Wallace have been doing an excellent job in trying to push for a broader understanding of what urban agriculture is, and how it can be implemented in Lantzville.

Once again, it is hard to understand the choices of Lantzville's Council.  David Elgie in particular seems unsuited for the task of commenting on the proposed bylaw, as he has no experience in agriculture, and is not even a long-time resident of Lantzville.  Considering the many well-qualified applicants who asked to be a part of the committee, this space could have been much better utilized.  As always, Jim Brash is muddying the waters, bringing up issues, such as water contamination and large pests (bears are his example) to which his only solution is "don't allow it".  Again, this space on the committee could have been used much more effectively, had someone been appointed who was interested in creating actual, working solutions to real, Lantzville issues.


I am very excited for the presentation tomorrow night at the committee of a commercial composter.  Hopefully his testimony will finally silence some of the more outrageous notions surrounding composting and manure. 


Looking towards the future, FUAL's informational events are scheduled and being advertised in The Log.  The first one is going to be Sunday, September 18th at the Legion.  We will be showing "Dirt: The Movie" and having a discussion with local composter, Connie Kuramoto.  It should be a good time, and I'm excited to hear everyone's views on the subject of good, clean, healthy dirt!


Thank you all for your support, and hope to hear from everyone soon.

Quick Update

We've had an exciting couple of weeks, lately.  All of the submissions for the Lantzville Urban Agriculture committee have been submitted, with both Louise and Andrew submitting letters on behalf of FUAL, and members are likely to be chosen in tomorrow's Council Meeting.  Another rally has been organized, starting at 6:30 pm tomorrow.  Everyone bring signs!  Also, FUAL has started planning some really interesting events and informational sessions for the next few months.  Movie nights, a panel of speakers, and a harvest festival are all in the works.  Keep an eye out for those once the fall rolls around.  Finally, Andrew Mostad and Michael Geselbracht have both decided to run for Lantzville Council in November.  Campaigns are starting to be organized and any volunteers who would be willing to help in any way would be greatly appreciated! 

It is looking like there is still a lot of work ahead of us, but a great group of super motivated people are starting to coalesce around Urban Agriculture in Lantzville.  We can make a difference, and we will make a difference in our community.

Lantzville Agriculture Committee

Last Council meeting, FUAL made a presentation to Lantzville Council asking to strike a committee to look at zoning bylaw changes to regulate urban agriculture.  A special thanks to four of our members; Marjorie, Louise, Andrew and Glenda, for their excellent presentation.  We also asked that at least 2 FUAL members be included in this committee.  Council didn't seem opposed to this option, and passed a motion to create a terms of reference for such a committee.  However, supporters of urban agriculture and local food have to keep the pressure on Council to strike this committee.  As well, we need to make sure that Council allows this committee room to work and to make a meaningful difference, instead of just having them make recommended amendments to a bylaw made by Council. 

Another Council meeting will be held this Monday, May 30th, and I encourage everyone to come out and let Council know that we will hold them accountable for their decisions.

Request: Urban Agriculture Committee

Council has placed themselves and the residents of Lantzville on a very tight timeline to deal with the issue of urban agriculture.  Since neither council nor staff have the required expertise in this area, and we want a "made in Lantzville solution", as council had initially proposed, I recommend we ask council to delay pushing through this bylaw until concerns of all parties can be adequately addressed. 

I would like to see a bylaw that encourages urban agriculture, while addressing the legitimate concerns of residents regarding water quality, air quality and noise.  I suggest we request council form an "urban agriculture committee", involving one or two interested council members, residents, and perhaps employing outside expertise as a resource in areas of concern.  If we are going to restrict the amount of land on a parcel that can be devoted to agriculture, I would like a valid basis for that restriction, rather than pulling a number out of a hat.  Why 20%, as opposed to 80%?  We may need the services of a hydrologist to determine the impact of agricultural operations, as opposed to normal lawn maintenance activities, on water quality.  We need time to research what impact urban agriculture has had on air quality and noise, and determine steps to be taken to mitigate any negative impacts. 

A complete ban on pesticides, without defining pesticides, is an issue of grave concern.  Insect and disease are a fact of life in any garden, either ornamental or food, and are best dealt with immediately, when limited use of low toxicity products is still effective.  I would like a clear definition of pesticide, as I would hate to see dormant oil spray for prevention of disease and insects on fruit trees (non-toxic and used as a preventative measure), Bacillus thuringiensis (biological insecticide that is harmful to insects but not humans or pets) or insecticidal soap (clogs breathing holes of insects, but completely harmless to humans and pets) classed as pesticides and therefore banned.  I recommend following Certified Organic Association of BC (COABC) standards which are based on extensive research into product safety and best management practices.  To view their standards, please go to their website at http://www.certifiedorganic.bc.ca/standards/index.php  There is a permitted substances list and a guideline of general principles and management standards. 

This can't be done in two weeks.   While residents have been anxious for council to begin the process, and I am thankful that now appears to be happening, I don't think anyone wants to rush through to a final solution, without considering the unique characteristics of Lantzville.  We are not Parksville, Nanaimo, or Victoria, and we can't just take their bylaws for our own.   We have a variety of lot sizes, we are on municipal wells, and one of the things about Lantzville that is appealing to many residents is the semi-rural atmosphere, which could include an agricultural component.  I have heard from many residents that they don't want Lantzville to be either an extension of North Nanaimo or turn into Parksville.  If that is the case, why would we borrow bylaws from these areas?  Let's develop our own, designed to maintain and enhance our unique community.

Louise Negrave

April 13th Press Release

The Friends of Urban Agriculture – Lantzville (FUAL) is a group of dedicated Lantzvillagers who are committed to encouraging sustainable agricultural practices on any property, regardless of zoning. To that effect, we are trying to work with Lantzville Council to craft bylaws that will be more in line with the changing cultural values of Lantzville and the surrounding areas. However, we have repeated run into roadblocks and detours put in place by Council. Temporary Use Permits, which are irrelevant to agricultural purposes for many reasons, have been touted by Council as a solution despite the public outcry against them. Now, Council is going to ram a new bylaw through that, again, does not address many of the concerns that local growers and community members have. Now that we have a new bylaw on the table, FUAL asks Council to craft something that is worth having. FUAL will gladly meet with Council to discuss some of the issues that local growers have. As well, FUAL gladly welcomes other community members who wish to become a part of the discussion around urban agriculture in Lantzville. We can be reached at FriendsofUrbAg@gmail.com, www.LantzvilleUrbanAg.blogspot.com or at 250-327-2285.

Welcome to FUAL

Welcome to the  FUAL Blog.

We have a situation here where it looks as if our mayor and council are trying to take down a functional market garden (Compassion Farm) while verbally supporting food gardening and urban agriculture.

We want to work with our Council and will be offering to meet with them as soon as possible to look for common ground.

We will accept FUAL Lantzville, FUAL RDN and FUAL elsewhere members. To join us, get in touch with Andrew at andrewmostad@gmail.com or 250-327-2285,  let us know where you live, and sign on to our principles:

·        support urban agriculture                   ·        treat everyone with respect

·        consider everyone's interests                    ·        use accurate information.

We want Lantzville to become a shining example of urban agricultural planning and we need a made-in-Lantzville by-law to support that goal.

Our efforts have been frustrated by lack of clarity in communications from our council. The mayor consistently separates the issues of urban agriculture and Compassion Farm despite strong rejection by Lantzville residents of the use of Temporarary Use Permits (TUPs) for agriculture in the residential zone.

It is our position that Compassion Farm should be let alone pending the design of a new zoning bylaw which will look after the interests of all residents.

Conflict is healthy when all parties commit to finding common ground as a basis for a win-win solution. It gets ugly when the aim is to polarize.

When someone feeds reporters misinformation about what we think, we get further from a solution. We don’t support noise, stink or contamination any more than the mayor is opposed to food gardening.

When a reporter makes comparisons with Walkerton, where the problem was incompetent and reckless officials and implies that agriculture and population density can never mix, then we're not getting balance, we're getting polarization, which is what we're trying to avoid.