Agrologist in Surrey, BC

Working on farmland in Surrey

Surrey is one of the most agriculturally significant municipalities in Metro Vancouver. Close to a third of the city’s land base sits inside the Agricultural Land Reserve, stretching from Cloverdale and Hazelmere out to the Serpentine and Nicomekl lowlands. Poultry, dairy, berry and vegetable operations anchor the farm economy, and the City supports that base with long-range agricultural planning of its own.

That productivity comes with scrutiny. Much of this farmland is low-lying, and low-lying land attracts soil. Whether you are raising a building site, levelling a field for cultivation, or accepting surplus material from an excavation project, moving soil on or off a property here quickly brings two regulators into the picture: the City of Surrey and, on ALR land, the Agricultural Land Commission.

The regulatory picture

The municipal layer is the Surrey Soil Conservation and Protection By-law, 2007 (No. 16389). A Soil Permit is required when more than 15 m³ of soil is deposited or removed, or when soil is placed to a depth of 0.5 m, whichever is less. Those thresholds are modest; a few truckloads can cross them. Volumes between 15 and 100 m³ may qualify for a simpler Notice of Intent to the City, while larger volumes require a full Soil Permit, with application fees and bonding attached. Larger development sites can also expect erosion and sediment control planning as part of the package, and the City’s written approval needs to be in place before work begins.

On ALR land, the Agricultural Land Commission adds a second, separate layer. Placing fill or removing soil on reserve land generally requires either a notice of intent or a soil or fill use application to the Commission, with its own expectations around fill quality, volumes, and agricultural benefit. The two processes do not substitute for each other, and the City’s own application materials set the order: on ALR land, municipal soil permits are issued for building-related work, while farm roads, landings, and general grading look to the Commission’s acceptance first. Sequencing the two, and preparing the soil and agronomic evidence both bodies expect, is usually where a project either moves smoothly or stalls.

How we help in Surrey

Titrin AgriSoil Solutions is based in Richmond, a short drive across the river, and the practice was built on Agricultural Land Commission files and City of Richmond soil bylaw work, a background that maps directly onto Surrey’s dual permit-and-Commission landscape. We prepare soil deposit and removal permit submissions, along with the fill quality assessments that determine whether a source material and a receiving field actually belong together. Where the Commission is involved, we manage ALC applications from scoping through decision, supported by land capability assessments that document what a soil can grow and why. For farm operations, our farm plans support soil or fill use (SFU) applications and longer-term land use decisions. And once earthworks begin, our monitoring and agrologist observation reports help demonstrate that conditions of approval are being met on the ground, not just on paper.

Every file starts the same way: understand the soil, understand the parcel’s agricultural capability, then match the project to the pathway that fits. Approval decisions always rest with the City and the Commission, but a well-prepared application gives them something clear to assess.

If you are planning fill placement, an ALC application, or a farm plan on a Surrey property, it pays to scope the pathway before volumes and trucking are committed. Book a consultation and we will review your site and objectives.