The provincial government announced a review of the agricultural land freeze in the metropolitan St. John’s area in early 2007.
The commission didn’t hold hearings until 2008, but it managed to submit a report in June 2008.
The provincial government released the report in September 2008.
Of the 1,450 acres recommended for deletion from the ADA, 1,061 acres (75 per cent) are within the boundaries of the Town of Portugal Cove-St. Philips. The report also recommends the deletion of 120 acres from the protected area in the Logy Bay-Middle Cove-Outer Cove area and 170 acres within the Town of Torbay.
The majority of this land base being recommended for removal from the zone has severe limitations and is unsuitable for agriculture. The review did not recommend any changes in the Goulds or Kilbride area, the main agricultural area in the St. John’s Urban Region.
At the time, the news release said the government was reviewing the recommendations.
A year after the provincial government received the report, there’s no word on what – if anything – came of the recommendations.
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