Protecting Agriculture
We constantly hear about the importance of protecting agricultural lands. But what does this mean? As Balzac East expands into a major industrial / commercial mecca, it removes some of our most valuable farmlands. The advent of new technology proposals, some requiring locations on vast tracts of productive farmland will potentially generate hundreds of millions in tax dollars. So, how does the County balance such decisions with its commitment to “protect” agricultural lands?
As a member of the Agricultural Services Board for the past five years, I have worked with the Board’s farm members, the County’s agricultural department, and numerous provincial agencies to understand the challenges our agriculture community faces as we balance the need for food production with emerging trends.
The County recently released its new Agricultural Master Plan which provides the “long-term vision for supporting both existing agricultural operations and providing new opportunities for diversification of the County’s agriculture sector". It also "informs future planning decisions and policy development related to the agriculture industry.” The feedback from the agricultural community on this document has been overwhelmingly positive. If re-elected, I am committed to seeing its recommendations become actions.
Development proponents regularly point out that applications to develop five quarter sections here and one quarter sections there are less than 1% of the County’s land. However, it still impacts our agricultural lands for initiatives with uncertain lifespans. And, if the saying “death by a thousand cuts” were ever to ring true, it is here. We all know that once agricultural land is taken out of production, it seldom returns to agricultural use.
Rocky View is fortunate to have the fifth largest assessment base in the province. This puts us in a special position in that we can be selective about what type of development we allow and where we allow it. We have thousands of acres of approved residential, commercial and industrial development within our various Area Structure plans. We should be making sure these lands are developed before approving more.
To respond to the trend in renewable energy, this Council hired the Mistakiis Institute to create a map to identify the most suitable locations for solar and wind farm facilities, based on agricultural and environmental factors. This important work can easily be applied to other development applications, like data centres. When we consider that these data centres will require co-located power generation facilities to power them, their location must be appropriately and thoughtfully planned. I will do my utmost to make sure that this happens.
I don’t profess to have all the answers, but I am committed to listening and continuing to be a strong advocate for preserving agriculture in our County.
On October 20th, vote Samanntha Wright for Division 4 Councillor, Rocky View County!