Canada: Urban Agriculture Policy and Possibilities – Vancouver
Our Policy and Possibilities report presents eight recommendations to the City of Vancouver, for how to improve the Urban Farm Guidelines and better support the growth of urban farming in the city.
February 2021
Vancouver Urban Farming Society
Recommendations
- Incentivize landowners to make land available to urban farmers using taxation or other policy tools.
- Make more City-owned land available for urban farming.
- Allow urban farming in all zones as a Permitted Use, and eliminate the Development Permit requirement.
- Create building bylaws appropriate for urban farm structures.
- Clarify and simplify the business license application process.
- Allow other urban farming products besides fruits and vegetables.
- Allow non-disruptive urban farming activities outside 8 am – 9 pm.
- Expand on-site sales and allow farm stands.
Conclusion
Vancouver farms face significant challenges to their operations in terms of access to land and indoor growing space, narrow margins, insecure land tenure, and the high cost of living. In addition to these challenges, they are constricted by city regulations that create uncertainty, impose high costs, and set unnecessary limitations on urban farm activities. There continues to be a lack of supportive policy and programs to help Vancouver’s farm sector thrive.
VUFS calls for the adoption of policies that improve access to land and indoor growing space, eliminate unnecessary regulations and reduce the cost of compliance for overbearing permitting and licensing processes. With a mandate from six city strategies, plans and targets to increase farming, the city is positioned to bolster its support. City investment in urban farming is required if we are to accrue the benefits that urban farms can deliver.
The City’s current review of the Urban Farm Guidelines and the COVID 19 Recovery Program, creates an opportunity to enact bold policies to help urban farming succeed. Now is the time to reinvigorate food provisioning from these lands to create social, economic, and environmental benefits and to connect Vancouverites to the agro-ecological systems that sustain us all.
