Farmland Protection and Agricultural Land Values at the Urban‐Rural Fringe: British Columbia's Agricultural Land Reserve

Abstract

Farmland conservation policies typically use zoning and differentiated taxes to prevent urban development of farmland, but little is known about the effectiveness of these policies. This study adds to current knowledge by examining the impact of British Columbia's Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR), established in 1973, which severely restricts subdivision and nonagricultural uses for more than 4.7 million hectares of farmland. To determine the extent to which the ALR preserves farmland by reducing or removing the development option, a multilevel hedonic pricing model is used to estimate the impact of land use, geographic, and zoning characteristics on farmland value near the capital city of Victoria on Vancouver Island. Using sales data from 1974 through 2008, the model demonstrates a changing ALR impact over time that varies considerably by improved and unimproved land types. In 2008, landowners paid 19% less for the typical improved farmland parcel within the ALR versus that outside it. This suggests that would‐be developers expect permanency in the zoning law, and prefer non‐ALR zoned land. However, ALR land that is unimproved has a premium of 55%, suggesting that this land is more valuable for agriculture than for development. Farmland located closer to the city or the commuting highway commands a premium if it has a residence on it, with a residence also explaining why smaller agricultural properties sell at higher prices. However, it appears that zoning by itself is insufficient to protect farmland; other policies likely need to be implemented in conjunction with zoning to protect agricultural land.

The landscapes of professional farms in mid‐sized cities, France

“…Indeed, local planning and zoning laws are not sufficient to support farming where farms are shrinking (Akimowicz, Cummings & Landman, 2016;Eagle et al, 2015;Mullinix et al, 2013). In Montpellier, agriculture still covers a significant part of the municipal territory but is weakened by the extension of the urban built environment, leading to contraction of the agricultural basins on the fringe of the municipal territory.…”

“…More than agricultural zonings, the environmental and controlled designation of origin zonings represent an effective protection of agricultural spaces. Indeed, local planning and zoning laws are not sufficient to support farming where farms are shrinking (Akimowicz, Cummings & Landman, 2016;Eagle et al, 2015;Mullinix et al, 2013).…”

Determinants of Farmland Abandonment in Selected Metropolitan Areas of Poland: A Spatial Analysis on the Basis of Regression Trees and Interviews with Experts

“…Two variables are used to assess the impact of institutional framework on farmland abandonment: the proportion of the area of municipalities for which spatial development plans are established, and the share of land covered by various forms of environmental protection. These are included because suitable land use policies and protection of farmland are likely to contribute to reduced farmland abandonment [54]. In the metropolitan areas studied, the share of surface area covered by spatial development plans is lower than 30% in 50% of municipalities.…”

Sugarcane expansion and farmland prices in São Paulo State, Brazil

“…Indeed, several factors are currently considered in the literature to be determinants of land prices: institutional aspects [25], spatial influence [8,16,23,42,57], international investment [2,44], and the rental price of land [24,51], among others factors.…”