B.C. Reg. 561/2004, deposited December 8, 2004, pursuant to the ASSESSMENT ACT [Section 23]. Order in Council 1210/2004, approved and ordered December 7, 2004.

On the recommendation of the undersigned, the Lieutenant Governor, by and with the advice and consent of the Executive Council, orders that the Standards for the Classification of Land as a Farm Regulation, B.C. Reg. 411/95, is amended as set out in the attached Schedule.

— G. ABBOTT, Minister of Sustainable Resource Management; S. BOND, Presiding Member of the Executive Council.

Schedule

1 Section 1 of the Standards for the Classification of Land as Farm Regulation, B.C. Reg. 411/95, is amended by adding the following definitions:

"fine seed" means forage seed or turf seed;

"January 31" means January 31 of the year in which a complaint against the assessment could be made to a property assessment review panel under section 32 of the Assessment Act; .

2 Section 4 is amended by adding the following subsection:

(3.1) Despite subsections (1), (2) and (3), the assessor must classify land as farm if

(a) the land has no present use,

(b) the land has a highest and best use that is a use not better than that of a farm,

(c) the land is part of a parcel, a portion of which is used for primary agricultural production, and the portion used for the primary agricultural production makes a reasonable contribution to the farm operation, and

(d) the portion being used for primary agricultural production meets the other requirements of this regulation.

3 Section 6 is repealed and the following substituted:

Exception to requirement for sale of primary agricultural products

6 Despite section 5 (3), the assessor may classify land as farm if the primary agricultural production from the land is

(a) not sold but is produced in sufficient quantities to have met the gross annual value requirements if it had been offered for sale, and

(b) either

(i) grains, oilseeds, fine seeds or pulse seeds, and the assessor is satisfied that the grains or seeds will be available for sale within 12 months after October 31, or

(ii) any other primary agricultural product that is grown and harvested for processing for sale or to be used in the preparation of manufactured derivatives to be made available for sale within 12 months after October 31.

4 The following section is added:

Exceptional circumstances

6.1 (1) In exceptional circumstances, the Lieutenant Governor in Council may waive, by order, any of the sales or production requirements of this regulation for the period and on any terms and conditions specified in the order.

(2) In this section, "exceptional circumstances" includes natural disasters and any other circumstances the Lieutenant Governor in Council is satisfied are of such a severity as to prevent or make impracticable compliance with certain sales or production requirements of this regulation.

5 Section 7 (3) (a) is repealed and the following substituted:

(a) be either

(i) used for primary agricultural production and make a reasonable contribution to the farm operation, or

(ii) certified by the owner, on the form prescribed for the purposes of section 4 (3) (b), as being held for the purpose of primary agricultural production, and .

6 Section 11 is amended

(a) by renumbering the section as section 11 (1), and

(b) by adding the following subsection:

(2) Despite subsection (1) (a), a property assessment review panel may reclassify all or part of a parcel of land as a farm if

(a) the information as required by the assessor under section 10 is

(i) submitted to the assessor by January 31, or

(ii) provided to the property assessment review panel as a result of a complaint under section 32 of the Assessment Act or a recommendation under section 34 of that Act, and

(b) the land meets the requirements of this regulation.

Copyright © 2004: Queen's Printer, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada