Valley farmland development debated

Hundreds of people on both sides of a controversial zoning request in Nova Scotia's Annapolis Valley packed into council chambers in Kentville on Monday night to discuss the merits of the issue.

Five farmers in the area have applied to rezone 153 hectares of farmland between Wolfville and Greenwich so they can develop the area for residential, commercial and industrial uses.

A decision by the Municipality of the County of Kings council is expected on Tuesday.

Paul Cameron, a local businessman, said the farmers should be thankful to their fathers and grandfathers for giving them the land.

"Thank the governor of Nova Scotia, Charles Lawrence, for the invitation of free land to their planter ancestors, and the Acadians and the Mi'kmaq for taking care of the land for hundreds of thousands of years," Cameron told the packed council chambers.

"I'm sure their forebears would be glad there's a plan to throw it all away."

Martha Crosbie, a resident of Kentville, said it was obvious to her that the council should not grant the farmers' request.

"It's a place to plant plants and make food for people. Half the world is starving. I mean, this is a no-brainer," she told CBC News.

Peter Elderkin, one of the five farmers requesting the rezoning, has said the number of farmers willing to try to make a living off the valley's fertile agricultural land is dwindling. He said while it's one thing to protect the land, it's another to make agriculture worth a farmer's time and energy.

Greg Webster, a farmer in nearby Cambridge, said he agreed with the proposal.

"Particularly in today's economic climate, farmers need every option available to them," he said. "If one of those options is subdividing their farm or selling off a portion of it so they can keep the rest of it viable, I don't have a problem with that."

But David Daniels, a lawyer for a group opposed to the farmland rezoning, told the public hearing the case could be heading to court.

"Council simply does not have the information required and a decision to amend it's land-use bylaws without this information will be illegal," Daniels told the crowd.

George Townsend, a member of the general public who came to the meeting, said he could see merits to both sides of the argument.

"I do feel that you can't grow something on pavement after it's done. Once the land is gone, it's gone and that might be the wrong approach," he said.

"There is lots of land in the area. We don't need to build houses on arable land. That argument has a little bit of weight with me."