A subdivision application is going to the Agricultural Land Commission (ALC) with the intent of resolving compliance issues with the Shuswap home of TV's Rust Valley Restorers.
The Columbia Shuswap Regional District board supported the application's submission to the ALC at its Feb. 20 meeting. The application is to subdivide 4439 Trans-Canada Highway into two parcels, one of 1.47 hectares and the other of 1.54 ha.
"This subdivision application would separate the portion of the subject property with the new buildings that the tenant is using into a separate parcel (proposed Lot 2)," explained staff in a written report to the board. The proposal would "allow the tenant the opportunity to continue working towards bringing their portion of the property into compliance with the ALC regulations" and CSRD bylaws.
Staff noted there are a variety of commercial and residential uses on the property, including an auto museum and two vehicle restoration businesses.
While staff recommended against supporting the application, Electoral Area G director Marty Gibbons urged the opposite, stressing the property's "regional significance."
"This is the property of the TV show, and whether they鈥檙e a celebrity or not doesn鈥檛 matter, in my opinion," said Gibbons. "However, I do recognize that this property and the activities on this property have been going on for a long time. So this isn鈥檛 like something new that they鈥檙e trying to do鈥�
"They鈥檙e trying to find a solution with another government body and I do not believe this board should stand in the way of that. They will have to come back to this board if approved by the ALC, and then this board will have the ability to have the discussion regarding OCP and steep slopes or other requirements. We may say no. It doesn鈥檛 matter if you鈥檙e a TV personality or not, it needs to be fair and applied."
A non-farm use application, to retain and expand current non-farm uses on the property, was submitted to the ALC in 2021. In May 2023, the ALC issued its decision, stating it did not support the application, specifically in relation to the approximately two hectares in the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR).
Asked by the ALC if the proposed non-farm use could be accommodated on land outside of the ALR, the applicant replied: 鈥淣o, this proposal is to deal with long-standing buildings and uses in the ALR plus a new partially constructed building for Rust Valley Restorers and a relocation of vehicle parking for the Auto Museum.鈥�
The ALC approved the auto museum in 1984 and, in 1996, it approved the "expansion of the Auto Museum and construction of a storage building."
鈥淪ince that time, the non-farm uses on the Property have expanded without approval of the Commission," said the ALC in its decision.
The ALC found the unauthorized uses and structures had 鈥渄egraded the agricultural capability of the land," and chose to deny the applicant鈥檚 proposal to 鈥渓egitimize the unauthorized auto-related non-farm uses and the relocation of unauthorized vehicle parking.鈥�
The applicant was allowed to continue the use of already approved structures, but unauthorized uses were to be relocated to a 鈥渕ore appropriate location.鈥� The ALC said it would defer enforcement actions for two years.
In January 2021, CSRD Building staff identified a building under construction on the subject property without the required building permit or development permits, commented staff. The regional district had a Stop Work Order and a Do Not Occupy notice, which was posted on the building in March 2021.
"Upon further review of the property staff notified the owner that in addition to a building permit, authorization from the ALC for a non-farm use, and issuance of CSRD development permits (in that order) would be required before a building permit could be issued," reads the staff report. "Staff will follow up with the property owner regarding possible resolutions to the non-compliance after the ALC has issued a decision on this application."
With the new ALC application, the property owner proposes to convert one of the vehicle shops into a single-family home and use the other for agricultural storage. Included with the application is a letter from a consulting engineer, who explained that with the subdivision, the bank behind the shops would be cut back to "create a safe building site and incidentally increase the amount of arable land."
A soil rehabilitation program would be developed to support "limited agricultural production," and the "resulting lot would then be listed and sold as a hobby farm and the ALC could record this as an enforcement win."
