A private school in a Richmond church is proposing to create a 375-square-foot garden – the size of an average living room – to compensate for operating in the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR).
Noah’s Ark, a Montessori school for children from preschool age to Grade 3, has been operating in contravention of Agricultural Land Commission (ALC) rules for 11 years at Richmond Alliance Church.
At a recent meeting, Richmond city council voted unanimously in favour of sending its application to the ALC to rectify its standing.
As a farm component, Noah’s Ark is proposing to dedicate 375 square feet for garden plots, a compost, rain barrel and shed in its grassy area, which is under 5,000 square feet.
The food will be used at the school and shared with school and church families as well as the Richmond Food Bank.
The school representative, Adina Priel, told council 20 per cent of the school’s families receive support from the provincial government.
1992 ALC agreement disallowed school use
A 14,800-square-foot expansion of the Richmond Alliance Church in 1992 was allowed by the ALC but its approval was subject to the condition that no other non-farm uses would be permitted, in particular, school, daycare and preschool use.
The church at this location pre-dates the ALR, which was established in 1973.
In 2007, when they allowed the school to be set up, many other schools were being approved in conjunction with churches, explained Ron Redekop, the current pastor of the church, to Richmond council's planning committee.
He said no one thought to go back to the original ALC agreement because the use was allowed under Richmond city bylaws.
It wasn’t until 2018 when the ALC sent a letter to the school saying it needed to apply for the non-farm use or face monetary penalties.
But the original intention, when the ALR was formed, of allowing education on ALR-located church properties was to have Sunday schools, explained Coun. Harold Steves, who was involved as an MLA setting up the ALC and its land reserve in 1973.
“At no time, however, was there ever any intention with the ALR or even our own assembly Richmond zoning bylaw to have non-religious schools on public assembly sites,” Steves told the planning committee.
Steves said the commission was “gutted” more in the 2000s and had only two staff members investigating compliance issues for the whole province, an overwhelming task.
At the same meeting where council dealt with the Noah’s Ark application, they voted unanimously to remove school use from any assembly zoning in the ALR, similar to changes made recently for the Highway to Heaven – a strip along No. 5 Road that contains many religious institutions and related religious schools with the agreement their backlands are farmed.
Choices School is another non-religious school in the ALR and city council supported its application to expand earlier this year. It is located in a repurposed church on Westminster Highway.
But an application last year by Pythagoras Academy, which has no religious affiliation, to relocate and build a school on the Highway to Heaven was rejected by council.
Noah’s Ark charges $13,500 per year in tuition for elementary students, $1,350 per month for full-time preschool and $625 per month for its part-time preschool program.
Richmond council voted unanimously to forward an application to the ALC to allow the school and preschool to continue operating.
