City of Richmond Official Community Plan

Topic	Sub-topic	Policy or Policy Excerpt	Document location	Language Rating
wildlife/environmental/pest management; food self reliance;	wildlife and ecosystem management; climate change and greenhouse gases;	Strengthen community resilience to projected global changes by increasing local self reliance and resource security (e.g., food security, energy security, groundwater security, intertidal ecological security).	pg 2-7
development and productive use of agricultural land;	ALR; ALR exclusion; ALR subdivision; 'benefit to agriculture' language;	Maintain the existing ALR boundary and do not support a loss of ALR land unless there is a substantial net benefit to agriculture and the agricultural community is consulted;	pg 7-2	*
education;	community food system education;	Increase public awareness of farming practises, farm products and support educational programs that provide information on agriculture and its importance to the local economy and local food systems.	pg 7-3
policy partnerships, advocacy and development;	agricultural advisory committee; partnerships/advocacy/liaising;	Build strong alliances with farmers and work with the City’s Agricultural Advisory Committee so that issues and policies that affect agriculture and impact farmers are addressed;	pg 7-4
economic development;	new entrants to farming;	Pursue incentives to increase actively farmed agricultural land and encourage new farmers;	pg 7-4
economic development;	farm diversification;	encourage value-added business initiatives;	pg 7-4
nutrition and public health;		Support farm activities which follow normal farm practices and do not create health hazards;	pg 7-4
economic development; development and productive use of agricultural land;	residential development;	Consider agricultural projects which achieve viable farming while avoiding residential development as a principal use;	pg 7-4
development and productive use of agricultural land;	ALR; roads in agricultural land;	Discourage, wherever possible, roads in the ALR, except as noted on the Existing Status of Road Improvements in the ALR Map;	pg 7-4
urban-agriculture conflict/edge planning;	buffer at agricultural edge; ALR;	Ensure that land uses adjacent to, but outside of, the ALR are compatible with farming by establishing effective buffers on the non-agricultural lands;	pg 7-4	*
urban-agriculture conflict/edge planning;	ALR; protection of farming development permit area;	Designate all parcels abutting, but outside of, the ALR boundary as Development Permit Areas with Guidelines for the purpose of protecting farming;	pg 7-5	*
urban-agriculture conflict/edge planning;	ALR; buffer at agricultural edge; roads in agricultural land; zoning; residential development; institutional development; commercial development;	Where there is an intervening road between the ALR and the non-ALR lands:• encourage appropriate landscaping within the road right-of-way in front of the non-agricultural lands (e.g., between the road curb, any sidewalk and the property line) through the servicing agreement process;• encourage an appropriate landscaped setback on the non-agricultural lands (e.g., 3 m or 9.84 ft. to parking and 6 m or 19.68 ft. to buildings) through the: - Rezoning and/or Building Permit process for industrial and institutional uses; - Rezoning and/or Development Permit process for commercial and multiple family residential sites; - Rezoning and/or Subdivision process for single family residential sites;	pg 7-5	*
urban-agriculture conflict/edge planning;	recreational use of agricultural land;	Minimize conflicts among agricultural, recreation, conservation and urban activities;	pg 7-5
urban-agriculture conflict/edge planning;	ALR; residential development;	Continue to encourage the use of the ALR land for farming and discourage non-farm uses (e.g., residential);	pg 7-5
development and productive use of agricultural land;	ALR; ALR subdivision; 'benefit to agriculture' language;	Limit the subdivision of agricultural land into smaller parcels, except where possible benefit ts to agriculture can be demonstrated;	pg 7-5	*
development and productive use of agricultural land;	ALR; farm worker accommodation;	Seasonal farm labour accommodation, as an additional residential use, may be considered so long as the accommodation is accessory to the principal agricultural purpose and helps to support a farm operation in the Agricultural Land Reserve;	pg 7-5	*
water management;	irrigation and drainage;	Facilitate the improvement of irrigation and drainage infrastructure to provide secure and affordable water supplies that support the agricultural sector;	pg 7-5	*
wildlife/environmental/pest management;	wildlife and ecosystem management; BC environmental farm plan;	Explore with farmers ways to protect the Ecological Network values of their lands such as:• explore programs contained in the 2012 Environmentally Sensitive Area Management Strategy;• encourage environmentally sound agricultural practices by promoting the BC Environmental Farm Program;• explore the viability of leasing agricultural lands that have important environmental values from farmers to manage these lands for both agricultural and environmental goals;• explore mechanisms that compensate farmers for the loss of cultivation to maintain key ecological objectives.	pg 7-6
urban agriculture;	urban gardens/orchard; edible landscaping;	Continue to seek out opportunities to collaborate with others to increase urban agriculture, the number of community gardens, edible landscape and food-bearing trees;	pg 7-8
urban agriculture; food production;	urban gardens/orchard; edible landscaping; residential development;	Encourage the retention of open space for food production (e.g., edible landscaping, gardens, rooftop gardens, food bearing trees) for the use of residents in new residential developments;	pg 7-8	*
education;	farm incubator; farmer training;	Continue to support incubator farms in order to help new farmers develop the necessary skills and their businesses;	pg 7-9	*
food production;	livestock;	Explore the keeping of small animals (e.g., poultry and bees) on a limited basis on small agricultural parcels, in consultation with the AAC, ALC and Vancouver Coastal Health	pg 7-9
food sales, access and procurement;	mobile/street food vending;	Explore local street vending opportunities.	pg 7-9
food processing, storage and distribution;; food production; policy partnerships, advocacy and liaising;	partnerships/advocacy/liaising; food distribution;	Promote available programs and continue to support community organizations involved with food production/distribution (e.g., Richmond Local Food Guide).	pg 7-9
economic development; food sales, access and procurement;	local food culture;	Develop a “Buy Local” marketing initiative to increase the demand for locally grown agricultural products, in partnership with Tourism Richmond, Chamber of Commerce, the RFI, and others.	pg 7-10	*
education; nutrition and public health;	community food system education;	Continue to support programs that promote healthy eating and increase food-related skills and knowledge about sustainable food systems;	pg 7-10
food sales, access and procurement; urban agriculture;	food recovery/gleaning/donation;	Encourage local gardeners to grow extra produce or distribute produce they don’t use to the Richmond Food Bank or other community groups;	pg 7-10	*
education; nutrition and public health;	community food system education	Support programs that encourage children and families to learn healthy eating habits.	pg 7-10
food sales, access and procurement; waste management;	food recovery/gleaning/donation;	Support the efforts of community groups and the private sector to establish initiatives that divert recoverable food from the pre-waste stream for redistribution to local food banks;	pg 7-11
waste management;	composting; residential development; commercial development;	Develop strategies to encourage organic waste diversion from multifamily housing and commercial properties;	pg 7-11
waste management;	composting;	Support the recycling and re-use of organic waste;	pg 7-11