Surrey council backs protection of potato farm land

Surrey city council is throwing its support behind a potato farm near the Langley border, with the goal of keeping the land zoned for farming.

Council voted at its Monday meeting to support the inclusion of 89 hectares of agricultural land along 192 Street to the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR).

The Agricultural Land Commission (ALC) is considering a total of 123 hectares of land to be included in the ALR, with 89 hectares of active farmland and another 34 hectares of intact forest. Surrey council voted to support the inclusion of the farmland in the ALR and supported keeping the forested area intact, but not as part of the reserve.

The ALR is a provincial designation that ensures certain parcels of land only be used for agricultural purposes.

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Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke says it’s “crucial” to protect the farmland and to ensure food security across the province.

“Not only does this rich agricultural land ensure a resilient local food supply, but its preservation will help reduce our carbon footprint in the battle against climate change,” she said.

According to the city, the farm produces roughly 50 million servings of vegetables every year.

The land is owned by the federal government, which has leased it to Heppell’s Potatoes for decades. However, the manager of the farm, Tyler Heppell, has previously expressed concern the lease may not be renewed, which would allow the feds to use it for non-farming purposes.

Heppell has been vocal online about keeping the land designated for farm use. In less than a year, he has amassed hundreds of thousands of followers on TikTok, where he documents his farm’s operations in an effort to drum up support to keep it zoned for farming.

Watch on TikTok

In January, there was a public hearing held by the ALC to help decide the fate of the farmland. The hearing was attended by hundreds of people in support of including the area in the ALR, along with dozens of written statements.

The ALC is expected to make a final decision on whether or not to protect the land in the coming weeks.