By Lyonel Doherty
Oliver Chronicle
The regional district is not giving its blessing to an application for a vehicle rental business on agricultural land in Oliver.
Last Thursday the board voted not to authorize the non-farm use to proceed to the Agricultural Land Commission (ALC).
The application in question comes from Raghvir Dhaliwal from Oliver Rental Centre at 5693 Sawmill Road.
District planner Chris Garrish said the proposal is to legalize a vehicle and trailer rental business that was commenced within the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) without prior approval of the ALC.
Garrish said the applicant has stated the proposal “cannot be carried out on lands outside the ALR because it is too expensive to buy parcels that fit the criteria of this operation.”
The applicant added it would take lots of money to improve the land in order to accompany the business.
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The subject property is 1.21 hectares on the east side of Sawmill Road, approximately 80 metres south of the Oak Avenue intersection. The property currently hosts a single detached dwelling, shop and double garage, with approximately 8,000 square metres of land under agricultural production.
Garrish said the property is zoned Agriculture One, which does not permit vehicle sales and rentals. (Oliver Rental Centre previously operated at 5851 Main Street but relocated to Sawmill Road earlier this year.)
Garrish said they consider the proposal to be inconsistent with Area C’s Official Community Plan (OCP).
He noted the applicant acquired the property because it “already had everything in place” due to it being previously occupied by Woody’s Glass, which was “not lawfully established on the site.”
Garrish acknowledged the applicant is seeking to utilize an existing building and parking area, but noted the alienation of agricultural land will largely be the result of an additional parking area.
The planner said a central tenet of the OCP is the preservation of agricultural land and protection against non-farm uses.
He noted the proposal will result in an expanded non-farm footprint at the expense of agricultural land. Garrish added it will change the pattern of development and the existing character of the area.
Area C director Rick Knodel said he had to vote against it even though his personal philosophy on the ownership and use of private property leans toward the landowner.
“I am finding that the job of regional director requires that I put personal opinion aside and consider the intent of our OCP, what precedent would be set, and the directions in the future of agriculture in this area.”
Knodel said the intended purpose of the application was strictly commercial with limited agricultural purpose.
“In the future, we will be eroding agricultural land in order to expand agricultural processes and marketing. If we can limit to those purposes we will gain food security.”
