60 people crowded into the Summerland Council Chamber to hear first reading of an amendment to the Official Community Plan. The OCP would allow for the swapping of up to 100 hectares of land within the ALR into a zone for residential development.

After 2 hours of other business, the motion to take the OCP to a Public Hearing was passed by a vote of 4-1. Councillor Peter Waterman, the only person voting against the idea.

Comments and questions from the gallery regarding the bylaw/OCP change were not permitted.

Next step: Open House and Public Hearing are scheduled for March 3rd  at the Arena Banquet Room. Everyone is invited to speak and share their opinions. 

Source – www.savethesummerlandalr.com

Earlier – There was a good turnout of local residents, farmers and others for a Family Day rally in support of Summerland’s agricultural land on Monday.

The ‘Stop the Swap’ group led by Erin Carlson, a 25-year-old local farmer, was formed in the wake of Summerland Council’s plans to remove about 80 hectares of some of the district’s best farming land from the Agricultural Land Reserve in exchange for about 90 hectares of marginal farming land west of town.

The rally at Memorial Park featured guest speaker and former BC Minister of Agriculture and Food, Corky Evans, who has been speaking across the province in support of the ALR.

He, along with others, spoke about the importance of local food and the significance these designated growing areas have on this and future generations.

The rally took place on the eve of the first reading before Summerland council on the matter.

Thanks to Castanet