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Pitt Meadows launches surveys to improve outdated Agricultural Plan

The city has not updated the plan in more than 20 years
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The City of Pitt Meadows is updating its Agricultural Plan for the first time since it was created in 2000. (Black Press Media files)

The agricultural industry has changed a lot in the past two decades, which is why the City of Pitt Meadows is now looking to modernize its Agricultural Plan for the first time since 2000.

Mayor Nicole MacDonald explained that updating the plan is essential for a community like Pitt Meadows, which has a large rural base.

“With approximately 78 per cent of the city’s total land area in the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR), council recognizes the vital role that agriculture plays in our local economy, history, and food security,” said MacDonald.

“Updating our Agricultural Plan will help address the many changes that have influenced agriculture in Pitt Meadows in the last 20-plus years, cultivate a resilient and thriving agricultural community, and focus on solutions that are within the jurisdiction of provincial and local governments, as well as other oversight agencies.”

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As part of this updating process, the city has put out two different surveys – one for people within the agriculture sector and one for the general public.

CAO Market Roberts explained that involving both the food producers and consumers of the community is an essential part of developing a more comprehensive Agricultural Plan.

“We are dedicated to supporting and promoting local agriculture, and our aim is for this updated plan to align seamlessly with our recently adopted Official Community Plan while incorporating strategic guidance from various levels of government,” said Roberts.

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In addition to the online surveys, there will also be in-person opportunities to submit feedback regarding the city’s Agricultural Plan at Pitt Meadows Day on June 3, the Pitt Meadows Farmers Market on June 13, and the Pitt Meadows Family Recreation Centre on June 22.

Feedback will be sought until the June 29 deadline, at which point the results of the survey period will be used to produce an updated Agricultural Plan that is expected to be released sometime this fall.

Locals can find the surveys at www.haveyoursaypittmeadows.ca.


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Brandon Tucker

About the Author: Brandon Tucker

I have been a journalist since 2013, with much of my career spent covering sports and entertainment stories in Alberta.
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