The City of Richmond is looking into spending $328,000 to hire new staff to police and patrol soil removal and deposit on agricultural land.
The hiring of a clerk to manage permit applications and two bylaw officers to "conduct patrols and field investigations" is one of the options being explored by the city.
Should city council plow such a path, it's estimated the cost could be offset slightly by $100,000 revenue from the new soil removal/infill permits and fees.
The hiring of new staff is, of course, dependent on the previously amended soil removal/infill bylaw being approved by three different provincial ministries.
A second, cheaper, option of hiring a clerk and just one bylaw officer was also expected to be chewed over by city council on Tuesday.
The new soil removal/infill officers would be out in "the field" making sure people have the correct permits to carry out the removal or infilling. Nearby municipalities, such as Langley Township and Delta, already have a similar system in place.
In January, city council approved bylaw amendments requiring a permit for soil removal and fill projects on Agricultural Land Reserve sites.
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