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VICTORIA — The B.C. government has introduced legislation to ban mega-mansions on agricultural farmland by overriding local zoning in cities like Richmond.

Agriculture Minister Lana Popham’s bill introduced Monday would restrict the maximum size of a home on agricultural land reserve property to 5,400 square feet.

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That size is already the standard under current ministry guidelines, but until now the province has allowed municipalities to set their own bylaws on the issue. Richmond, where the problem of mansions on farmland is most acute, set in 2017 the maximum house size of 10,743 sq. ft. on agricultural land.

Popham told the legislature the changes were made because the public has told her government that it supports a much stronger approach to protecting farmland.

“The old government let wealthy speculators drive the price of farmland out of reach for young farmers and allowed some of our most valuable agricultural land to be damaged,” Popham said in a news release. “We are protecting farmland in B.C. to ensure land is available now and for future generations of farmers, so people in British Columbia have a safe, secure supply of locally grown food on their tables for years to come.”