Insights · Blog
Agricultural Land Reserve: can I build on that acreage in Langley?
By Ramon Gutierrez, PREC
By Ramon Gutierrez, PREC
Buyers fall for an acreage in Langley and start planning before they have checked the one thing that decides what they can do with it. If the land is in the Agricultural Land Reserve, the plan has to fit provincial rules first and Township of Langley rules second. A bigger house, a second home for parents, a lot split for the kids, a new shop with a long driveway: each of these may need a permission you do not get just by owning the land. The time to find out is before you remove subjects, not after.
The Agricultural Land Reserve is a provincial zone in British Columbia that preserves agricultural land for the future. It is administered by the Agricultural Land Commission, the ALC, an administrative tribunal that decides applications for land in the reserve. The ALC states that its priority is protecting the ALR land base and its use for agriculture.
That priority matters for a buyer. The rules are written to protect farmland, not to make it easier to build homes on it. A rural property in Langley can be beautiful and still be governed first by that purpose.
Do not assume either way. Some rural-looking properties are not in the reserve, and some properties that look like ordinary large lots are. The ALC publishes ALR maps on its website, and the Township of Langley can confirm the designation and zoning of a specific parcel. Your lawyer or notary will also see what is registered on title.
I ask for this to be confirmed in writing early, for every acreage. It changes the conversation about price, about plans and about which professionals we need.
According to the ALC, most ALR properties may have one principal residence without applying to the Commission, if it meets the conditions the ALC sets, including a limit on total floor area and a limit on fill placed for construction. A secondary suite is allowed only inside the principal residence.
A property may also have one additional residence without ALC approval under specific conditions, including that it is detached from the principal residence and within a size limit that depends on the size of the property. The ALC publishes the current limits on its Housing in the ALR page. I do not quote them here because they are set by regulation and can change. Read the page the week you are buying.
If a plan goes beyond what is permitted, such as a larger house or more than one additional residence, the ALC says a Non-Adhering Residential Use application is required. An application is a request, not a right. It takes time and the answer can be no.
The ALC also says local governments may further regulate or restrict residences in the ALR. In practice, that means the Township of Langley's zoning, siting rules and building permits still apply on top of the provincial rules. The Township can be stricter than the ALC. It cannot be more permissive.
Other approvals can apply as well: a building permit, a septic system designed and filed by an authorized person, and any floodplain or environmental requirements for that site. A low-lying property near a creek or the Fraser River has questions a hilltop parcel does not.
Two plans I hear often are splitting the land and building up a pad or driveway with fill. Both are restricted.
The ALC states that land in the ALR cannot be subdivided unless the Commission specifically allows it or it is permitted by regulation, and that most subdivisions need ALC approval. This applies to all ALR parcels, including small ones.
For fill, bringing soil in or taking it out over certain limits generally needs a Notice of Intent or an application to the ALC before the work starts. Fill that was placed without approval can become the new owner's problem. If you see a raised building pad, a large new driveway or piles of soil, ask the seller when it was done and whether it was approved.
For any acreage, I build the subject period around the land, not just the house. We confirm whether it is in the ALR. We read the ALC housing rules and check the plan against them. We ask the Township what the zoning allows and what permits exist for the buildings already there. And if the buyer's plan needs any approval at all, they speak with a land use planner or a lawyer who works with ALR files before they remove subjects.
If the plan only works with an approval you do not have, the price you pay should reflect the land as it is today.
Thinking about buying or selling in the Fraser Valley? Message me and we will go through your options.
Every property and every household is different. Ask Ramon directly.