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Sturgeon County farmers can now get the permits they need to do agritourism on their farms following the passage of new rules for diversified agriculture.
Sturgeon County council voted 6-0 in favour of third reading of the agribusiness and agritourism review recommendations implementation bylaw on Nov. 15. Coun. Neal Comeau abstained from the vote as he was not at the bylaw’s public hearings.
County council tabled this bylaw in May to address the recommendations of the Agribusiness and Agritourism Review Task Force.
The bylaw sets out new land-uses and creates an AG-2 district for higher-traffic agriculture-related activities associated with diversified agriculture.
The bylaw defines diversified agriculture as agricultural uses which draw more traffic than usual to a farm, such as value-added processing, on-farm sales, and farm-life experiences such as farm-to-table dinners. It excludes events that are not primarily agricultural in nature such as weddings, retreats, ceremonies and corporate functions.
The bylaw makes diversified agriculture a permitted use on Agricultural and AG-2 lands, with those permits requiring detailed plans which address hours of operation, anticipated noise and traffic volume, and other items.
The bylaw defines “events” (limited term commercial activities such as weddings) and “event venue” (a place for events). Event venues are not allowed on Agricultural lands but are a discretionary use on AG-2 ones. Permits for event venues may require traffic and noise impact assessments, community consultation plans, and other information as required by the development officer.
Tyler McNabb, program lead for development and safety codes with Sturgeon County, told council these new rules allow agritourism operations to get permits to legalize many of their current activities. The rules will not affect small private events, non-commercial Indigenous ceremonies, any activities for which a farmer already has a permit, or traditional farming. The rules will allow neighbours to appeal discretionary activities such as event venues on AG-2 lands.
In an interview, Sturgeon County Mayor Alanna Hnatiw said this bylaw aimed to ensure agribusinesses in Sturgeon had the proper facilities needed for safe operations.
“We needed to articulate appropriate guardrails for people to be able to develop their farms,” she said, as the county had no specific agribusiness or diversified agriculture rules prior to this point.
County council also directed Hnatiw to pursue a resolution at the Rural Municipalities of Alberta to call for a provincial review of agribusiness and agritourism regulations.
In an interview, Hnatiw said the province had not set out clear direction and supports for farmers to meet Alberta’s growing interest in local food, resulting in a “Wild West” environment where entrepreneurs try to do whatever they want in rural areas and clash with neighbours. Farmers, meanwhile, were trying to diversify into agribusiness only to be stymied by expensive provincial standards for roads and commercial buildings.
“We need the province to step in,” Hnatiw said, specifically to remove obstacles to agribusiness and support farmers who wish to get into it.
Prairie Gardens owner Tam Andersen said she was re-evaluating her agritourism activities in light of this new bylaw, and was unsure if she would need to seek new permits or zoning. She planned to keep her focus on farm education and value-added food.
“The thing we’re most concerned about is the red tape,” she said, noting how some of the traffic studies required for these permits were expensive.
Shelley Takacs runs the Copper Creek Barn wedding venue on land zoned agricultural near Namao. Because wedding venues on agricultural lands were not allowed under the old land-use law, Takacs said she has had to get special event permits every year since 2019 just to operate — permits which were a poor fit for her, as they were meant for huge events like concerts.
Takacs said she will have to rezone her land to AG-2 and apply for an event venue permit to continue to host weddings under this new law. While this could mean higher taxes for her, it would also give her business some much-needed certainty.
“It’s going to keep us operating legally, efficiently, and safely,” she said of the new law, and should help other agribusiness owners plan for the future.
Visit www.sturgeoncounty.ca/property-and-utilities/planning-and-development/agritourism for more on the new bylaw.
Kevin Ma
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