GETTING TO WIN-WIN WITH
LOCAL GOVERNMENTS
BCAFM 2015
Presented by Jen Comer, Creston Valley Farmers’ Market Manager & Town Councillor
OUTLINE
 Why should local government care?
 Help comes from unexpected places
– build partnerships!
 How can you work with them?
 Understand local government
planning
ABOUT ME
WHY SHOULD LOCAL GOVERNMENT
CARE AND HOW CAN THEY HELP
The big picture
BIG PICTURE
 Canadians consume 100,000,000 meals
each day
 "Few government officials or municipal
councils consider in totality the
intersection of the food chain with how
our communities have been built, how
they operate, and how their future is
going to be shaped by food and foodrelated issues”
 Gord Hume, Municipal World Magazine
April 2010
 Significant local government
changeover
OPPORTUNITIES
• Fosters local economic
development
• BCAFM Economic Impact Studies
invaluable!
• FMs are incubators for small
businesses, some of which outgrow
the market and open their own
businesses
• Addresses food security issues
• BCAFM Nutrition Coupon Program
• Food deserts in urban areas
• High quality affordable seasonal
produce
• Builds community
• Free and regular public gathering space
• Supports environmental
sustainability
• Less food miles
• Local organic agriculture
 Revitalize downtown streets
 Turn sleepy towns into vibrant
shopping hubs for locals and tourists
HEALTHY COMMUNITIES THRIVE
 Health issues related to unhealthy diets is
overwhelming our society (Federal and
Provincial budgets related to health care)
 Just as municipalities were a leader with
smoking, pesticides, recycling, now is the
time to focus on food
 Poor nutrition affects person's socioeconomic status, and their ability to
succeed is hindered
 Less nutritious food = more at risk people
= future social problems costing
governments more
CHALLENGES
 Conveying opportunities/ needs/ benefits
to local governments
 Inconsistencies between markets in
same local governments and health
authorities
 Lack of permanent spaces or risk of
relocation year-to-year
 Navigating requirements/ permits/
approvals of temporary markets (i.e.,
annual events like parades, street fairs)
and reoccurring temporary market
(farmers' markets)
HOW TO WORK WITH LOCAL GOV'T
 Provide annual presentation as a
delegation
 10 minute presentation, short &
sweet!
 Provide any specific requests in
writing
 Talk with staff before presenting to
council
 Municipalities can use existing
events (like Farmers’ Markets) to
engage community members
WHAT LOCAL GOV'T CAN DO
 Signage
 Waste management
 Street closures
 Storage space
 Office space
 Electricity
 Portable toilet facilities
 Water
 Facilitate partnerships
 Allow zoning/local regulations
to allow liquor sales
WHAT LOCAL GOV'T CAN DO
 The more municipalities can do to support
markets, the better. Don't cripple them with
costs and hoops
 Public space (in-kind or for fee)
 Outdoor and Indoor
 Long-term leases
 Promotional support
 Financial support (grants) or in-kind support
(land, letters of support for grants)
 Leverage community resources
 Single business license for market
BUILDING PARTNERSHIPS
 Working with local government also means building good community
partnerships with other organizations, educational institutions, Chamber of
Commerce, First Nations, health authority, local ag groups, etc.
 Leverage funding
 Local expertise
 Public support
• Local governments and
funding agencies want to
see community
partnerships
HOW LOCAL GOV'T CAN SUPPORT LOCAL
AGRICULTURE (BEYOND THE MARKET)
 Introduce new zoning policies
 encourage market gardens on vacant land
 Allow the sale of food from door step
 Backyard bees & chickens
 Encourage food infrastructure facilities
 Cluster businesses and facilities to provide
synergistic opportunities
 Drive consumer demand for local food through
promoting it
BEYOND THE MARKET
 Municipalities often focus on local food as
backyard gardens & farmers' markets
 They are missing out on significant broader
opportunities
 Food hubs - connecting processing, distribution,
selling, retail, restaurants, learning
 Opportunity for a "virtuous cycle of job
creation, entrepreneurship, community spirit,
and local pride”
 Municipal World, September 2013
LOCAL BUSINESSES
 Work with surrounding businesses
 Talk with businesses about positive /
negative impacts on surrounding
businesses
 Report back to council on findings
 Highlight economic spin-offs from
market to businesses
 Become a Chamber of Commerce
member
 Be a champion for small local
businesses
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
PLANNING 101
And how Farmers' Markets can get involved
UNDERSTANDING LOCAL GOV'TS
 Understand local policy documents –
OCP, ICSP, RGS, land zoning,
neighbourhood area plans, regional
plans
 Find a champion on council
 Work with a designated staff person
 Understand what the local grant
process is (local and regional)
LAND USE POLICIES
 Understand land use policies
 Determine where development
can occur
 Areas are delineated as “zones”
defining the land use
 Zoning changes can take a few
months to be adopted
 Allow farmers’ markets in a
variety of zoning (public, private
lands)
OFFICIAL COMMUNITY PLANS (OCP)
 Public planning bylaw that provides long term vision for community
 Vision, Values and Goals
 Outlines transportation, land use, parks & recreation, housing, climate change, social
vibrancy, environmental stewardship, economic development, arts & culture, etc.
 10 - 15 year scope
 All future municipal bylaws and work by must align with OCP after adoption
 Increasingly including food security components
 Bill 27 2008 (Green Communities) mandates local governments to identify targets,
policies and actions to reduce GHGs
 Requires community members and stakeholders in process
 Get involved in steering committee, or at least attend public meetings
Victoria OCP
(Prince George OCP)
INTEGRATED COMMUNITY
SUSTAINABILITY PLANS
 Long-term plan (30 – 50 year plan)
 Consultation with community
members
 Help the community realize
sustainability objectives:




Environmental
Cultural
Social
Economic
 Address climate change
 Healthier communities
 Less costly to operate a sustainable
city
Invermere ICSP
Revelstoke ICSP
REGIONAL GROWTH STRATEGIES
 Lead by Regional Districts
 Involves member municipalities, provincial agencies, rural areas
 Regional vision statements
 Areas of focus: housing, transportation, regional services, parks & natural areas,
economic development, GHG reduction, natural resources
 All future regional district bylaws must be consistent with strategy
 Municipality OCP must be updated within two years to include “regional context
statement”
Naniamo RGS
AGRICULTURAL AREA PLANS
 Agricultural Area Plans (AAPs) are an even stronger tool to connect local
producers to consumers
 Lead by Regional Districts or Municipalities
 More input from direct farming community (farmers institutes, commodity groups,
organizations), academia, provincial & federal government
 AAPs relatively new (mid 1990s)
 49 local governments completed AAPs
 Ways to support local farms




Ensure farmers can advertise their farm businesses with zoning bylaws
Identify agricultural areas
Engage public in respecting farm traffic
Include livestock and food security in emergency planning
Kamloops AAP
MetroVan AAP
SUMMARY
 Building good relationships with your local government and other partners will only
help your market
 Farmers’ Market fulfill many priority areas for communities
 Multiple ways to be involved in local government planning
 Everyone needs to eat. We can help them eat food that benefits our communities.