Surrey Councillor Gordon Hepner introduces motions to strengthen protections for Agricultural Land Reserve parcels and improve rural road safety in Cloverdale.
Choseno Civic News Desk
Provincial and municipal political affairs reporting
CLOVERDALE, B.C. — Highlighting the critical role of agriculture in South Surrey and Cloverdale, Councillor Gordon Hepner brought forward measures to protect Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) properties from illegal dumping and unauthorized industrial encroachment.
Hepner also secured support for safety upgrades on narrow rural arterial roads frequented by heavy farming machinery and commuter traffic.
"Surrey contains nearly a third of Metro Vancouver's agricultural land," Hepner remarked during the council debate. "Preserving our fertile soil and supporting active farming families isn't just about heritage—it is essential to our regional food security and flood mitigation."
The measures mandate increased municipal enforcement against illegal fill operations and direct engineering staff to review speed limits and shoulder widenings along key farming corridors.
Local farm organizations and residents in Cloverdale and Serpentine Valley welcomed the focus on rural infrastructure, emphasizing the growing challenges of balancing urbanization with working farmland.