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LETTER: Farm land should not be used for housing

Though some revisions had to be made, some properties were very obviously missed.
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Dear Editor:

Back in 1973, when the Land Commission Act was passed by an NDP government in B.C., the initiator of the act, Dave Stupich, said this:

“There will be no further alienation of agricultural lands in this province except in cases where it is judged to be the in public interest.”

As an owner of agricultural land at that time I have appreciated the concept since its inception and have supported the Agricultural Land Reserve in its stand against developers ever since.

When members of the ALC went about mapping land throughout B.C. to save what little fertile land we had from developers, one of the major supporters were the fruit growers of the Okanagan.

Though some revisions had to be made in deciding which lands should or should not be designated for the ALR, there were some properties that were very obviously missed. One of these is that gorgeous sun bowl called Bristow Valley on Banks Crescent in Summerland.

Anyone looking at the vineyard that has now supplanted the original fruit orchard will be appalled at the lack of foresight in not having this property in the ALR.

I don’t live near there, but it would be an obscenity to allow this piece of fertile agricultural land go to a developer for unneeded housing.

This certainly would not be in the public interest.

Frank Martens

Summerland