A plot of land north of the Town of Osoyoos owned by the Demelo family will not be removed from the Agricultural Land Reserve.

The 3.4 hectare plot is adjacent to residential development on three sides and is prime lake view property. RDOS Directors voted this summer to let the Provincial Agricultural Land Commission make the final decision. And they have citing that the land is capable of sustaining fruit and grown crops.

 

Previously on ODN

 

A plot of land north of the Town of Osoyoos (87th Street and 104th Avenue) will be submitted to the ALC for exclusion even thought some directors had concerns about removing quality agricultural land from the reserve.

Spokesman for the Demelo Family – Brad Elenko says the 3.4 hectare plot is adjacent to residential development on three sides and the property has been subject to anti-farming vandalism for twenty years. Directors voted to let the Agricultural Land Commission make the final decision.

In support of this proposal, the applicant has stated that there has been a history of conflict with adjacent residential uses which has impaired the ability of the property owner to effectively farm these parcels, specifically:
• theft and vandalism of farm equipment, theft of fruit and trespass of neighbours and neighbour pets onto the farmland
• the farm owners cannot efficiently or practically farm the lands proposed for exclusion due to the added cost of the ongoing vandalism, the cost of compromising required farm practices due to neighbourhood complaints, and the lost opportunity due to theft of fruit
• the cost to farm the lands including repairs and replacement of farm equipment on the land and the compromised farm practices due to neighbourhood complaints, outweighs the revenue generated from the sale of the fruit from the property; and
• the proposed exclusion … will not result in any future land use conflicts with agriculture as 104th Avenue will provide a very defined and distinct division between farm and non-farm uses.