Summerland council has forwarded an application to construct a 10-site recreational vehicle campground on a parcel of land in the Agricultural Land Reserve.
But the resolution, from the March 11 municipal council meeting, does not support the application.
The location of the proposed 10-site campground is a four-hectare site at 10815 Rutherford Ave.
The land will remain under the Agriculture designation within the Official Community Plan and the zoning will remain as A1-Agricultural Small Acreage.
The applicant is proposing to build the campground on the western portion of the property and will be limited to five per cent of the property or 0.2 hectares.
The land has been used for growing alfalfa and berries, but the applicant has said the yield was not sufficient for continued viability.
As a result, the plants have been removed and the lease holder is proposing to plant a vineyard in May.
No water or septic connections will be provided for the campground sites, but electrical connections have been proposed.
While the Agricultural Land Commission supports agri-tourism uses on land within the land reserve, the land commission’s policy does not allow for any individual connections on permitted campgrounds.
Two municipal committees have recommended council reject the proposed campground.
Summerland’s Agricultural Advisory Committee and the Advisory Planning Commission have both recommended council not support the campground application.
“Due to concerns with long term implications of the proposed development, lack of agricultural activity in recent history and inconsistency with the neighbourhood, with the agri-tourism definition and with the surrounding farming activities, the AAC does not support the application being forwarded to the ALC,” a statement from the Agricultural Advisory Committee read.
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Members of council raised their concerns with the application.
“This is not what we want to see on that property,” said Coun. Erin Carlson.
She added that while there are two campgrounds within the Agricultural Land Reserve in Summerland, those are not the same as the proposal for the proposal for Rutherford Avenue.
Council members also raised concerns that the application is not to add a campground to an existing farm but rather to have the campground in place at the same time as the vineyard is being planted.
A report from the municipality’s planning department recommended forwarding the application to the land commission.
“Given the relatively small portion of the lot being utilized and similar uses existing on other similar parcels, staff recommend that council support the application being forwarded to the ALC,” a report from development planner Kevin Taylor reads.
Corine Gain, Summerland’s director of development services, said the decision to forward the application to the land commission comes in part because there are issues surrounding this application which need to be addressed at the provincial level.
She said staff at the ALC have advised the municipality to forward the application to the land commission.
The resolution to forward the application without supporting it was carried unanimously.
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