Langley Township is appealing a ruling that would have allowed a farmer to process poultry on his rural South Langley property.
A Township spokesperson confirmed that the municipality is appealing the December ruling by Justice Gary P. Weatherill that dismissed the Township’s petition against poultry farmer Garrett Broatch and his company.
The Township would not issue any further comment on the appeal.
Broatch said he would also not comment yet on the court proceedings.
The legal battle has now gone on more than five years, t0 2016, when Broach first applied for a rezoning to allow him to build an abattoir for poultry on his 40-acre farm.
In 2018, the Township unanimously voted against the rezoning, after public hearings at which several of Broatch’s neighbours raised concerns about the scale of the operation, or hypothetical impacts on the local aquifer.
However, then-councillor Angie Quaale worried that the Ministry of Agriculture might override the Township’s decision under ‘right to farm’ legislation, noting that Broatch’s application was in compliance with ministry standards.
In the end, Weatherill’s ruling pointedly mentioned that every other senior government agency had told the Township that refusing to allow Broatch to process his own chickens on his farm was “inconsistent with the provisions of the ALCA [Agricultural Land Commission Act] and the LGA [Local Government Act].”
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With the Ministry of Agriculture and the Agricultural Land Commission supportive of Broatch’s right to process his own poultry, he went ahead and built his facility in 2020, without a Township permit.
The Township then started issuing daily fines of $500 for months-long periods in 2020 and 2021, adding up to about $100,000. Broatch has contested the fines.
Weatherill was scathing about the Township levying fines when it was in the middle of a legal battle with the farmer.
“If what occurred was not intimidation on the part of the Township, I find it difficult to imagine what would be,” Weatherill wrote in his ruling.
However, he did not rule on whether or not Broatch would have to pay the fine, reserving a decision on “special costs” until after the adjudication.
Have a story tip? Email: matthew.claxton@langleyadvancetimes.com
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