Council on board with more housing at salad plant

Coldstream council is supporting an application to add more housing for temporary farm workers at the Vegpro salad packing plant on Ricardo Road.

The Quebec-based company is seeking approval from the Agricultural Land Commission for non-farm use to add another 96 sleeping units at its housing campus, which would give it a total of 218.

The proposed housing would accommodate temporary farm workers (TFWs) who work in the packing plant and in the surrounding fields that grow the salad products.

Vegpro has operated in Coldstream since September 2018, and according to a district staff report, it has seen a significant increase in demand for certified organic lettuces, which has necessitated the current application to increase housing supply for TFWs.