ALR land swap town hall

Photo: Deborah Pfeiffer

Hundreds attended Mar. 3 public hearing on land swap

A town hall meeting is scheduled for Monday evening to discuss the contentious land swap issue in Summerland.

The meeting will take place at Summerland Secondary School starting at 6 p.m. and Mayor and Council will take direct questions on the topic of the District of Summerland’s controversial land swap.

Council scheduled the town hall meeting after people were turned away from a previous public hearing, on March 3, due to lack of space.

The meeting will begin with presentations from district staff, Mayor and Council, and the two agri-businesses who have voiced an interest in the land that would be added to the Agricultural Land Reserve.

Following those presentations, there will be an opportunity for the public to ask questions.

“This is the first time we are getting the chance to talk to Council and it is an opportunity to change the dialogue in this community” said Erin Carlson, organizer of the grassroots group Stop the Swap that has mobilized to protest the land swap. “It is a chance to ask the questions that have not been answered yet and start talking about alternatives.”

In an email to the group’s supporters, the Stop the Swap team suggested a question: “What is the Plan B in the event that the Agricultural Land Commission turns down the land swap?”

The swap would see just over eighty hectares of prime farming land in Summerland removed from the ALR.

Ninety hectares of lesser quality land farther out of town, in West Prairie Valley, has been proposed to be swapped in to compensate.

The town hall meeting is taking place on the same day that the BC Government plans to debate and vote on Bill 24, a bill that will overhaul the ALR by opening up 90% of the province's farmland to other uses.

There will be a second public hearing on Tuesday, 22 April at 7 p.m. at the Summerland Secondary School gym.