Natural Resources
Municipal Affairs
September 11, 2008

Government Reviewing Recommendations for
Modifying the St. John�s Agriculture Development Area

A public review process of the current boundaries of the St. John�s Urban Region Agriculture Development Area (ADA) has resulted in a series of recommendations to remove 1,450 acres from the zone, primarily in the Portugal Cove-St. Philips area.

"We are committed to protecting and improving our agricultural land base, while at the same time ensuring that only lands suitable for farming are included in the agricultural zone," said the Honourable Kathy Dunderdale, Minister of Natural Resources and Minister Responsible for the Forestry and Agrifoods Agency. "We must take into consideration the requests from non-farm land owners who want to sell and develop their properties and this review process is our due diligence to ensure we are only protecting agriculturally-significant land."

The report of the review commission, established in 2007 to lead the public review process, is currently with officials in the Department of Natural Resources to complete new survey descriptions based on the recommended modifications. The recommendations, if adopted, will result in changes to some municipal plans. This is the first review of the boundaries of the St. John�s Agriculture Development Area since 1993.

"I am pleased to see the completion of this complex review process," said the Honourable Dave Denine, Minister of Municipal Affairs. "The department looks forward to continuing to work with the Department of Natural Resources and the impacted municipalities to update the municipal and regional plans to allow development to be undertaken in a timely manner."

Of the 1,450 acres recommended for deletion from the ADA, 1,061 acres (75 per cent) are within the boundaries of the Town of Portugal Cove-St. Philips. The report also recommends the deletion of 120 acres from the protected area in the Logy Bay-Middle Cove-Outer Cove area and 170 acres within the Town of Torbay.

The majority of this land base being recommended for removal from the zone has severe limitations and is unsuitable for agriculture. The review did not recommend any changes in the Goulds or Kilbride area, the main agricultural area in the St. John�s Urban Region.

"The agriculture industry is an integral part of our economy in this province and our government has increased our support for this industry by $11 million this year alone," Minister Dunderdale said. "Initiatives such as the Land Consolidation Program, the Provincial Agriculture Assistance Program and our limestone program all provide important assistance to our farmers to increase their land base, clear additional and improve the soil."

The review commission was lead by Felix Collins, MHA for Placentia - St. Mary�s and legislative advisor to the Minister Responsible for the Forestry and Agrifoods Agency. The commissioner conducted an open review process inviting public and individual submissions from anyone with an interest in the St. John�s ADA. In all, 122 groups, organizations and individuals made presentations.

In addition to the recommendations around the deletion of land from the zone, the report also contains recommendations relating to watershed zoning, increasing the ADA with suitable land and expanding the Land Consolidation Program to make more land available to farmers. These recommendations are being analyzed.

A copy of the report is available online at //www.nr.gov.nl.ca/agric/fact_pubs/pdf/ReportDevelopmentAreaReviewCommission.pdf

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Media contacts:

Tracy Barron
Director of Communications
Department of Natural Resources
709-729-5282, 690-8241
tracybarron@gov.nl.ca
Jennifer Collingwood
Director of Communications
Department of Municipal Affairs
709-729-1983, 690-2498
JenniferCollingwood@gov.nl.ca

2008 09                                                         11 3:20 p.m.
 


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