Richmond has become ground zero in the struggle over farmland preservation. (Cooper mentioned the municipality 21 times in his article.) Several years ago, Richmond council, with mayor Malcolm Brodie at the helm, floated a proposal to limit house size, but buckled under pressure from farmers who don’t want any regulations that might compromise their land values, and more specifically from Indo-Canadian farmers who claim they need extra-large houses to accommodate their extended working families. That has left the gate wide open for developers and speculators. In 2010, the average application for home construction on Richmond farmland was 7,329 square feet. By 2015, it had soared to 12,087 square feet. Some are much larger, most notably the 21,733-square-foot house (with 13 bathrooms) conspicuously located at the corner of Steveston Highway and No. 4 Road. Some offended neighbours have tagged it “Brodie’s bungalow.” By July 2016, the speculation reached stratospheric levels. One application — for a 41,000-square-foot house with 23 bedrooms and bathrooms — was rejected by city staff — not because it was too big, but because it looked like it was being developed as a hotel, which is not allowed. The council then asked the B.C. agriculture ministry to draw up rules limiting and standardizing house size on ALR land. In October, the ministry rejected the request, making it clear that house size would remain a municipal responsibility.