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.