BC Court of Appeal says club can continue to fly model aircraft on farmland runway

A radio control club used an agricultural property to fly model aircraft.  The local municipality challenged this use as being outside the scope of permitted agricultural uses.  The club argued that its activites fell within a permissible secondary use - "unpaved airstrip and heli pad".  The municipality argued that all uses in the agricultural zone must be agricultural or complimentary to agriculture; the RC flying satisfied neither category.  A motions judge agreed with the municipality.

The case went to the BC Court of Appeal and the motions judge's decision was reversed.  The restriction of "farm" classification in the zoning by-law to activities directly associated with agriculture was unjustifiable.  The Court ruled that the "farm" classification allows complementary uses that are suitable in an agricultural setting, including activities not directly associated with farming but conducive to the setting.  These activities do not disrupt or change the essential agricultural character of the land.  Because the RC club's activities were of this class, they were permissible secondary uses of the farm land.

Read the decision at: Lake Country (District) v. Kelowna Ogopogo Radio Controllers Association.

Farm Property Class for legal owners, not beneficial owners

The Ontario Divisional Court heard a "stated case" from the Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Appeal Tribunal (the "Tribunal") concerning the appeal of property tax assessments of various properties.  The applicants had appealed on the basis that they should have been assessed in the farm property class under Section 8(2) of Regulation 282/98.  The questions on the stated case to the Divisional Court boiled down to whether lands that are beneficially, but not legally, owned by Canadians, qualify for farm property class.  In general, a property is legally owned by the named registered owners of the property; other individuals or entities may hold unregistered equitable ownership interests in the property.  The Divisional Court concluded that the favourable tax treatment applies only to lands legally owned by Canadians.

The properties at issue in this case were purchased for commercial investment purposes by Walton International Group Inc.  They are currently being used for farming, but the long-term plan is to develop them for non-farming purposes. 

Read the decision at: Walton International v. Farm Property Class Tax Rate Program.