City of Surrey Zoning Bylaw 12000

Topic	Sub-topic	Policy or Policy Excerpt	Document Location
food production; urban agriculture;	livestock; urban chickens;	Keeping of Animals (a) The keeping of livestock, poultry, rabbits and chinchillas in the RA, RH, RF and RF-SS Zones is subject to the following maximum permitted numbers: i. Two (2) livestock for every 0.4 hectare [1 acre], with the minimum lot size of 0.4 hectare [1 acre]; ii. Six (6) sheep or goats, for every 0.4 hectare [1 acre], with the minimum lot size of 0.4 hectare [1 acre]; iii. Twelve (12) head of poultry, excluding roosters, for every 0.4 hectare [1 acre], with the minimum lot size of 0.4 hectare [1 acre]; iv. Rabbits and chinchillas where the lot is 0.4 hectare [1 acre] or greater, or 2 rabbits or chinchillas where the lot is less than 0.4 hectare [1 acre]...See document for additional regulations for the keeping of animals including regulations for the keeping of urban chickens.	part 4 B.7
food sales, access and procurement;	mobile/street food vending;	Portable Food Services Portable food services providing temporary food services from a vending cart may be permitted in all commercial and industrial Zones provided that the vending cart: (a) does not exceed 4.0 sq. metres [43.0 sq. ft.] in area; (b) is capable of being moved on its own wheels without alteration or preparation; and (c) is fully self-contained with no service connection, excluding electrical connections, provided the portable vending cart is located no more than 2.0 metres [6 ft.] from the point of electrical connection.	part 4 B .9
food sales, access and procurement;	farm retail/gate sales;	Accessory uses limited to the following: (a) Display and retail sale of products provided all of the following are satisfied: i. all of the products offered for sale shall be produced by the farm operation or at least 50% of the floor area for product sales and display shall be limited to product produced by the farm operation; ii. products offered for sale shall be limited to agricultural and/or horticultural products and shall exclude dressed fowl or poultry, butchered meat and/or preserved food unless dressed, butchered or preserved off-site; iii. the cumulative maximum floor area for the display and sale of products shall not exceed 93 square metres [1,000 sq. ft.]; iv. all products offered for sale and related displays shall be located entirely within a building; and v. products offered for sale and related displays shall be an accessory use to a single family dwelling and the agricultural and/or horticultural use of the lot; (b) i. Food and beverage service lounge associated with a farm-based winery in accordance with the Agricultural Land Commission Act/Regs/Orders; ii. Retail sales associated with a farm-based winery in accordance with the Agricultural Land Commission Act/Regs/Orders; provided the maximum floor area for retail sales and wine tasting does not exceed 93 sq.m. [1,000 sq.ft.].	part 10 B. 9 (a) (b)
food processing, storage and distribution;	food processing; ALR:	Primary processing of products provided at least 50% of the product being processed shall be produced by the same farm operation or is feed required for the farm operation;	part 10 B. 9 (c)
development and productive use of agricultural land;	siting and coverage; ALR:	See document for siting regulations for buildings and structures in General Agriculture Zone (A-1) and Intensive Agriculture Zone (A-2)	part 10 F. 1 (a); part 11 E; part 11. F.1;
development and productive use of agricultural land;	farm residence maximum setback; ALR:	Maximum setbacks: No portion of a single family dwelling and an additional single family dwelling or a duplex shall be located farther than 50.0 metres [164 ft] from the front lot line provided that, on a corner lot, no portion of a single family dwelling and an additional single family dwelling or a duplex shall be located farther than 50.0 metres [164 ft] from either the front lot line or the side lot line on a flanking street..	part 10 F. 1(b); part 11 F.1(b)
development and productive use of agricultural land;	residential development; ALR:	A secondary suite shall: (a) Not exceed 90 square metres [968 sq.ft.] in floor area; and (b) Occupy less than 40% of the habitable floor area of the building.	part 10 J. 1; part 11. J.1;
development and productive use of agricultural land;	farm home plate; ALR:	The following provisions shall apply to a farm residential footprint: (a) The maximum size of the farm residential footprint shall be 2,000 square metres [0.5 acres]; (b) Despite Sub-section J.2.(a), the maximum size of the farm residential footprint may be increased by 1000 square metres [0.25 acres] for an additional single family dwelling or duplex where the lot is 4 hectares [10 acres] or more and is a farm operation; and The maximum depth of the farm residential footprint from the front lot line, or the side lot line on a flanking street if it is a corner lot, shall be 60 metres [197 ft.].	part 10 J. 2; part 11. J..2
food processing, storage and distribution;	food processing; food storage; food distribution;	This Zone is intended to accommodate and regulate industries which process agricultural products or provide services to agriculture. See document for regulations for Agro-Industrial Zone (IA).	part 51

Supplementary Information

Municipal Planner Interview with the City of Surrey Re: Farm Homeplate Restriction

The City of Surrey’s farm home plate restriction requires the clustering of non-agricultural buildings and structures in Agricultural Zones close to the front property line. By clustering non-agricultural uses and regulating the size and siting of the associated footprint, known as the farm residential footprint, the City of Surrey aims to curtail the impact of estate development on agricultural land and the installation of long residential driveways over prime agriculture soils.

Policy Development

Given the urban areas within Surrey, the use of ALR land for residential development is an ongoing challenge within the municipality. Approximately 7 years ago, the municipality began developing regulations for the size and siting of the farm home plate on ALR lands. It was a contentious process which resulted in the adoption of the farm residential footprint provisions into the zoning bylaw in 2012. While the final home plate provisions cluster and limit the total footprint of residential uses (eg lawns, pools, residences, accessory buildings), they do not restrict the footprints of houses themselves.

Public Consultation and Policy Adoption

The agricultural industry, Surrey’s Agricultural Advisory Committee and the general public were engaged during the farm home plate development and review process. Strong opposition toward limiting house size was expressed at open houses. As a result, house size restrictions were not included in the home plate provisions.

Policy Implementation

While non-compliant, pre-existing and pre-loaded sites were granted development variances and building permits, variances for future farm home plate adjustments are only to be supported where the proposal will benefit agriculture. Communicating this priority to the public and the need to implement it, takes time which was evident in the large number of variance applications submitted after the new regulations were adopted.

Policy Outcomes and Recommended Improvements

It was reported that the policy has generally helped reduce the loss of productive ALR land to residential development, but it has been less effective than initially intended. It was expressed that, to have the desired influence on restricting the use of ALR land for estate homes, a policy should ideally limit the footprint of farm residences in addition to restricting the footprint of the home plate.

References

City of Surrey, Planning and Development Division, Department of Community Planning, personal communication, October 2016

Municipality:
City of Surrey

Document Type:
Zoning Bylaw

Level of Government:
Municipal

Topic(s):

Development and Productive use of Agricultural Land

Food Processing, Storage & Distribution

Food Production

Food Sales, Access & Procurement

Urban Agriculture

Sub-topic(s):