A valley wide farm interest story is unfolding in Summerland (historic marker above)

Council is expected to vote 4 to 1 – two councilor absent to swap 200 acres of farmland ask  with mountainside land elsewhere in the district municipality. The Agriculture Land Commission would be asked to agree since the farmland is in the Reserve (ALR).

ODN will have the results tonight.

This has been a long and divisive battle with many people opposed with three packed public meetings – petitions and letter writing.

Two members of Summerland council own property in the areas where land is to be exchanged and cannot vote on the issue.

This is reminiscent of a similar situation in Oliver (1990) when the Town wanted to take farm land inside the municipality and allow zoning for housing. The ALC said no and those farms remain in production today.