AgRefresh

The City of Abbotsford recently completed AgRefresh, a three stage planning process to review and update agricultural policies, bylaws, and regulations, and to establish a framework for improving bylaw compliance for lands within the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR). The AgRefresh project delivered updated Official Community Plan (OCP) policy and Zoning Bylaw regulation, and prepared a bylaw compliance approach for farming areas.

On August 29, 2022, Council adopted OCP Amendments (Bylaw 3247-2022), Zoning Bylaw Amendments (Bylaw 3246-2022), and a new Council Policy for Agricultural Areas. View the updated Zoning Bylaw and OCP.

About AgRefresh

Abbotsford is geographically the largest municipality in BC with a total area of 389km², and nearly 75% of the City in the ALR. As one of the most intensively and diversely farmed areas in Canada, local agriculture produces a wide range of crop and livestock commodities making farming a significant part of Abbotsford's economy and community identity.

The agriculture industry is quickly changing and intensifying. Abbotsford farmers are looking to add value to their products to remain competitive by incorporating activities such as on-farm processing, farm retail, commercial events, and agri-tourism experiences.

The City has demonstrated its commitment to agriculture by gaining greater insight and understanding of this sector. The 2011 Agriculture Strategy provided a vision for the health and growth of agriculture in Abbotsford, with a recommendation for the City to undertake a rural area plan, which AgRefresh has addressed in part. Also, the City’s recently updated OCP, provides a high level vision, policies and guidelines to enhance and protect agricultural integrity.
On March 14, 2016, Council endorsed the AgRefresh guiding principles and directed staff to undertake a three stage planning process (view Report No. PDS 031-2016):
- Stage 1: Conduct background research
- Stage 2: Explore new policy directions
- Stage 3: Prepare policy and regulation for adoption
The AgRefresh process was organized around a list of tasks and engagement activities, with the outcomes of each stage summarized in a report to council.

Process

Stage 1 focused on understanding the current state of agriculture in Abbotsford. Community and industry engagement helped identify trends, opportunities, challenges, and key themes for further work in Stage 2.

Engagement conducted in early 2016 included a community open house, as well as meetings and workshops with government agencies, industry representatives, and City committees.

Stage 1 findings are summarized in the Background Research Report, received by Council October 3, 2016.

Stage 1 Background Report and Appendices
Stage 2 provided an important opportunity to engage with the agricultural community and industry stakeholders to identify key themes and discuss the agricultural land use topics most important and relevant to farming in Abbotsford.

Through a series of initiatives (online survey, workshop, open house, meetings), the City received feedback on a range of key AgRefresh topics. This supported preparation of the New Directions Report, setting a high level framework for the development of detailed policy and regulation in Stage 3.

Stage 2 work is summarized in the New Directions Repor t, received by Council July 31, 2017.

Stage 2 New Directions Report (with Appendices)
Stage 3 worked with the research, learnings, and engagement of previous stages to develop and refine specific policies and regulations for community/stakeholder feedback and Council consideration. The AgRefresh process concluded on August 29, 2022, with Council adoption of the following project deliverables:
Background

The AgRefresh Stage 3 Report was released in early October 2021, outlining draft policies, regulations, and recommendations for Abbotsford's farming areas. With this report, Council also endorsed the proposed ALR Bylaw Compliance Approach, directing staff to begin implementation (see section 4.0 of the Stage 3 Report).

Throughout winter 2021-22, staff conducted a comprehensive engagement process to gather feedback on the draft policies and regulations from agricultural stakeholders, the broader community, and several agencies. A summary of what we did, what we heard, and proposed changes in response to feedback is outlined in the Stage 3 Engagement Results: Winter 2021-22 report.

Additional Stage 3 background is available through the following reports :

City FAQs and Helpful Provincial Links

Have questions about the new AgRefresh provisions? Read through answers to some frequently asked questions.
Agricultural Land Commission
Ministry of Agriculture and Food

Related Contact

Planning and Development Services

AgRefresh

About AgRefresh

Process

City FAQs and Helpful Provincial Links

Related Links