Agricultural sector wants a seat at the planning table

By Pepper Parr

July 15^th, 2025

BURLINGTON, ON

Few would see Burlington as a farming community.

Vincent Sowa. Chair of the Burlington Agriculture and Rural Committee.

Vincent Sowa, Chair of the Burlington Agriculture and Rural Committee started his delegation with: I want to thank you for prioritizing the development of the Burlington Agricultural Action Plan from our the  delegation early in the spring.

Your leadership brought this work forward. Having said that, just reverting back to the why of all this.  Burlington is often recognized for its vibrant downtown and waterfront. It is important to remember that nearly 50% of the city’s geography is rural.

We did some digging: In 2001 census reports had 73 operating farms in Burlington that generated over about $46 million in gross farmer receipts – this isn’t a fringe sector, it’s a key contributor to Burlington local economy and long term sustainability.  More than that the rural area often represents the foundation for economic self sufficiency through either food production, land stewardship, opportunities for innovation and agribusiness tourism, and, you know, forms a big part of climate resilience, you know, with foliage cover and all of that.

The rural community faces some really unique and frustrating paradoxes, and despite being subject to some of the most restrictive land use controls in Ontario, from the Greenbelt and Niagara Government Authority, Burlington is ineligible for many provincial programs that support rural economic development.

The Burlington Agricultural Action Plan sets out ten core actions that the City can take to advance opportunities for economic growth, innovation and resiliency in the Rural Area. The actions are structured in a manner that aligns with the City’s commitment to conserving the character of the Rural Area and protecting and enhancing its natural environment, while also enabling the rural economy to evolve and change. By investing in this sector, the City will not only protect farmland but also foster a thriving rural economy, strengthen food security, and enhance climate resiliency.

The agricultural sector faces regulatory complexity, rural/urban land use conflicts, rising land costs, succession planning challenges and infrastructure gaps. The Burlington Agricultural Action Plan (the Plan) outlines a comprehensive strategy to strengthen and sustain the city’s agricultural sector while aligning with updated provincial policies. The
Plan emphasizes collaboration, streamlined development processes, economic development, infrastructure support, and public awareness through the following core
actions:

1. Review the rural and agriculture-related policies of the Official Plan to ensure
alignment with the updated provincial policy framework.

2. Develop a targeted economic development strategy to foster businesses needed
to support a healthy agricultural system.

3. Work with regulatory agencies to establish an expedited approval process for
rural development.

4. Develop an awareness program that informs the public about the benefits of local
agriculture.

5. With input from the rural community, develop and implement an infrastructure
plan required to support the agricultural system.

6. Assess leading agricultural and related sectors to quantify what they require to
thrive and how the City can assist.

7. Establish a system to track key components of the agricultural and rural system.

8. Encourage the implementation of progressive financial opportunities that support
agriculture.

9. Secure the long-term productive use of agricultural lands.

10. Coordinate policies for the natural heritage system and agricultural system to
ensure they are mutually supportive and enhance climate resilience.

The  mismatch between policy and eligibility means Burlington rural sector is over-regulated and under-supported. We’re navigating near urban compatibility issues with access to the same funding that other rural areas would have.  The plan before you, the Agricultural Action Plan,  is timely and targeted;  it includes 10 core priorities, from rural infrastructure and streamlined development approvals to economic development policy alignment and public awareness. It reflects extensive community input through food for feedback events that we’ve held over the last couple of years, staff collaboration and alignment with provincial planning changes that, of course, have occurred over the last couple of months or years.

Rural Burlington has quite a few “pick your own” farms that are popular. They don’t do much in the way of adding to the number of people working in the sector.

Most importantly, I think it’s actionable. It’s rooted in what Burlington can do now within our mandate and resources. I want to point out one very important point. You’ll notice that the plan does not yet include a detailed budget or a staffing model, and I want to address this head on This was an intentional and strategic decision. Rather than wait a couple of years for a fully staffed report that was dotted in every down lockdown 200% we thought it would be more important to focus on identifying quick wins and immediate next steps and provide a framework for action. The plan is a living document. There is no expectation that you approve this plan and everything is done tomorrow. The council doesn’t have that plan. I don’t think there’s any expectation that that is the case, but it provides that framework to say what is the next step, and the document to go back to a document to align to out of every four year census, you know, measurement to say how we progressed on these measures.

Why does approval matter? It demonstrates follow through on your behalf:  Commitment to rural Burlington.  It aligns with your goals already around crime and resilience, food security and holistic thriving Burlington. It shows leadership in responding to the loss of regional agricultural support services; by that, I mean planning being downloaded onto the city from, the Region.

This Action Plan allows us to re-engage with other local stakeholders, and other networks around the area. Our request this morning is that you approve the Burlington Agricultural Action Plan.   We support the early implementation,  particularly looking at things around rural infrastructure and economic development actions, and then ensure that there’s continued collaboration with the committee to monitor, adapt and bring the plan to life.

Councillor Bentivegna: The report reads very, very well. This is long overdue. You mentioned actionable items without funding. Can you expand on how we’re going to keep this living document going moving forward given that there is no funding for 2026?

Farm properties do come up for sale – much of the land is already in the hands of developers who have taken a long-range approach – rent the land until they can develop it.

Vince:  If you read through those action items in the document, there are actually things that the committee can work through when we’re sitting together with city staff present, around some of the planning, some of the reporting, those types of things, we can start to put that framework together, and we can build that plan over the next couple of months, and then we can come back and present those budgets as staff has time to develop the facts and figures that are needed to support each one of those action items.

Having Economic Development sit in on the committee- that’s a really fast win.  Yes, there’s an hour of time there, but that shouldn’t be a major impact to the city. We’re not asking for new staff , we are asking for  a representative to sit with us. These are very small things that can be done; there are larger things that are going to take time. This provides the framework and a guide to get to those budgeting and resourcing.

Bentivegna: This goes to Council today – Tuesday July 15th – we will let you know what they decide to do with it.