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Perfectly legal farmhouses as large as 22,000 square feet are cropping up on Richmond farmland, among the largest homes allowed in Metro Vancouver.

But on Thursday the city begins a process to decide whether the mega-mansions are taking up too much space on land in the agricultural reserve and whether sizes should be capped the same as many other Lower Mainland cities.

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“This has gotten out of hand. We’re got to do something to address it,” said Coun. Bill McNulty. “The horse is out of the barn. We’re trying to close the barn.”

An open house from 5 to 8 p.m. at city hall will set out the problem: Richmond is alone among Metro Vancouver municipalities in permitting 60 per cent lot coverage, meaning a farmhouse is allowed to cover 60 per cent of the size of the property. On a three-acre spread, that amounts to a pretty big house, said Coun. Carol Day.

Sizes are often capped elsewhere: According to Richmond staff, Delta’s limit is 5,000 square feet on eight hectares or more; Port Coquitlam’s maximum is 5,282 square feet and Maple Ridge’s is 3,000 square feet; Surrey does not specify a maximum house size. Ministry of Agriculture guidelines allow two houses of 3,339 and 4,305 square feet, the latter for seasonal farm labour.