Yilan's Strict Review of Farmhouses Sparks Public Protest; Council of Agriculture Says Central Government Supports Protecting Farmland
Two days ago, the Yilan County Government gave advance notice of the draft "Yilan County Regulations Governing the Qualifications of Applicants to Build Farmhouses and the Review of Farmhouse Construction", which stipulates that applicants must have actually farmed or been covered by farm insurance for at least 2 years before they can apply to build a farmhouse. Two days ago, when the Yilan County Government gave advance notice of the draft, 400 members of the public protested that it conflicted with central government regulations and harmed the right to build farmhouses. The county council will review it again tomorrow morning. However, the Council of Agriculture stated that because Yilan has many farmhouses, if the local government sets stricter rules, the central government will support them, and using farm insurance as a review condition does not violate central government laws and regulations.
Council of Agriculture: Yilan determining whether there is actual farming is conducting a qualification review
After the Hsuehshan Tunnel opened to traffic in 2006, farmhouses in Yilan grew at a rate of 600 per year, yet the number of farming households was even lower than before the Hsuehshan Tunnel opened, clearly showing that many homeowners are not farmers. Among them, many luxury farmhouses even brazenly put up bed-and-breakfast signs. To avoid fake farmers recklessly building farmhouses and speculating on land, the "Yilan County Regulations Governing the Qualifications of Applicants to Build Farmhouses and the Review of Farmhouse Construction" stipulate that applicants for farmhouses must have at least 2 years of farm insurance eligibility, or have farmed for 120 days per year for 2 consecutive years, with guarantees from 3 neighbors, and must also provide agricultural product sales channels for county government verification.
Two days ago, when the Yilan County Council reviewed it for the first time, more than 400 members of the public gathered outside, protesting that the county government violated central government regulations, narrowed the qualifications for building farmhouses, and harmed their rights. Some even told farmers, "If you want to farm, go farm somewhere else."
The Council of Agriculture's "Regulations Governing the Construction of Farmhouses on Agricultural Land" states at the outset: "Applicants to build farmhouses shall be farmers," but it does not clearly define "farmer." This time, the Yilan County Government is using farm insurance as the enforcement criterion. Two weeks ago, Lin Chang-li, deputy director-general of the Council of Agriculture's Soil and Water Conservation Bureau, said in an interview with NewsMarket that it would study whether this approach violates central government laws and regulations. "Because Yilan County has the most farmhouses, if local government regulations are stricter, the central government will support them. If Yilan uses farm insurance as the review method, it does not violate central government laws and regulations."
When interviewed again yesterday, Lin Chang-li said that the Yilan County Government is still in the notice period, and an assessment can only be made after the final version is decided.
Although he did not take an explicit position, he said that returning to the regulations, farmhouses are built out of actual farming needs without affecting agricultural development. "Yilan determining whether there is actual farming is conducting a qualification review." He said that on July 1 the year before last, the Council of Agriculture prohibited the construction of clustered farmhouses in special agricultural zones, which also met with many protests. "But some things are what the government should do. Agricultural land is precious, and once a farmhouse is built it is hard to restore, so it must be well protected."
Draft "Yilan County Regulations Governing the Qualifications of Applicants to Build Farmhouses and the Review of Farmhouse Construction"
http://www.e-land.gov.tw/public/Data/532310291471.pdf