CARA: The battle between agricultural and industrial land uses
As readers may have seen in last week’s Echo, the Creemore Area Residents’ Association (CARA) opposes the large industrial and commercial development proposed to be built on prime agricultural farmland at Cashtown Corners by Steer Enterprises.
The new zoning being sought by Steer is to rezone a proposed severed portion of the property from the agricultural zone to the agriculturally related commercial exception (AGC-7) zone. CARA submits that the proposed zoning bylaw amendment and severance of part of this prime agricultural land are inappropriate and would not be good land use planning for this site at Cashtown Corners.
This is an important land use issue. Clearview council is in the difficult position of having to find a balance between its clearly written and long term land use policies and support of a local business. CARA has always supported job creation and local economic development and supports the creation of eight new jobs in Clearview Township. CARA would be very pleased to see the expansion of Steer’s successful local business on suitable industrial or commercial lands in Clearview, ideally on serviced industrial land in the new Stayner Industrial Park, rather than on prime, unserviced agricultural land at the gateway to Creemore.
Steer is a diesel engine, heavy truck and trailer repair centre. It presently operates a four-bay repair shop in Glen Huron, from which it also dispatches mobile service vehicles. The intent is to expand to a 10-bay repair facility, with a very large sales/service/parts building and 71 parking spots including parking for 30 large tractor-trailers. This is a 2.5 times increase in the number of repair bays at the current repair facility.
The use of land, buildings or structures designed for the purpose of repairing goods, articles or things, as distinguished from the buying and selling of commodities and personal services, is an industrial use under Clearview’s zoning bylaw.
The purpose of land use planning is to guide existing and future development and use of land in order to protect key resources while ensuring efficient, effective development and preservation of our rural quality of life. Provincial Policy, the Simcoe Official Plan and the Clearview Official Plan all support restricting agricultural land to agricultural uses. Clearview’s Official Plan makes it very clear that standalone industrial uses shall not be permitted outside urban settlement areas or business parks. The requirements and principles in the current Clearview zoning bylaw do not support any industrial or commercial use at this site. Therefore, Steer must seek council approval of a zoning bylaw amendment.
Municipalities do not have complete discretion when establishing their Official Plans for land use and the related zoning bylaws. Rather, they are subject to provincial policy, and must give public notice of proposed bylaw amendments so that input can be received. Specifically, the Provincial Policy Statement, 2014, (PPS) mandates that prime agricultural areas shall be protected for long term use for agriculture. The PPS defines agriculture-related uses as those farm-related commercial and farm-related industrial uses that are directly related to farm operations in the area, support agriculture, benefit from being in close proximity to farm operations, and provide direct products and/or services to farm operations as a primary activity.”
The PPS is very clear that non-agricultural uses in prime agricultural areas may only be considered when alternative locations have been evaluated and there are no reasonable alternative locations which avoid prime agricultural areas.
Clearview’s Official Plan gives examples of permitted uses within agricultural lands, as follows: Permitted industrial and commercial uses shall be limited to those providing services or supplies to nearby agricultural operations, or which require proximity to the agricultural area for research purposes, including uses such as feed mills, seed cleaning plants, agricultural produce warehouses, abattoirs, greenhouses, cold storage and grain drying facilities, livestock assembly areas, veterinary clinics, animal hospitals, estate wineries, or similar agriculturally related businesses.
The Clearview zoning bylaw defines agriculture-related uses as farm related commercial and farm related industrial uses that are small scale and directly related to the farm operation and are required in close proximity to the farm operation.
This proposed expanded business does not fit within any of these definitions. The intended expanded business is not “small scale and directly related to the farm operation”, the intended use is not “limited to those providing services or supplies to nearby agricultural operations” and it will not be providing “direct products and/or services to farm operations as a primary activity”, all as required by the PPS, the Clearview Official Plan and the zoning bylaw.
In the documents provided to date, Steer estimates that half its current business volume comes from production agriculture, agri-business, horticulture and forestry repairs and parts sales. Importantly, Steer has thereby admitted that at least half of the present business volume comes from other owners of diesel engines, heavy trucks and large tractor trailers, such as municipalities, fleets, owner operators and businesses with delivery trucks.
Furthermore, neither Steer nor Steer’s expert planner, Christine Loft, have provided any evidence or opinions that the “primary activity” of the proposed expanded diesel engine, heavy truck and trailer repair business at the new site will be “directly related to farm operations”.
Council and readers should question why this evidence of the intended primary land use of a greatly expanded business has not been provided.
CARA realizes that Steer’s successful business includes servicing farmers in Clearview Township and also elsewhere in Simcoe, Dufferin and Grey counties. This makes it clear that this industrial repair facility is not “required in close proximity to the farm operation”, which is part of the current land use rules in Clearview. As for Steer’s business with farmers, based on presentations made at the August 22 public meeting, CARA believes it is likely that many of these services are provided by Steer’s mobile parts and service units and therefore could be provided out of any industrial location in Clearview.
To date, Steer has failed to provide evidence that there are “no reasonable alternative locations which avoid prime agricultural areas” before a non-agricultural use in prime agricultural areas can be considered, as also required by Provincial Policy.
There is plenty of land in Clearview Township that is already designated in Clearview’s Official Plan and zoned for commercial or industrial use. One obvious preferred location is in Stayner, on County Road 91, west of Airport Road, where a number of commercial operations are already located. With wpd intent on constructing large industrial wind turbines on this county road, the addition of a nearby industrial/commercial garage and repair facility would not be incompatible with the existing and proposed land uses in this part of the Clearview settlement area. A second obvious alternative is the new Stayner Industrial Business Park. In any event, under the Clearview Official Plan that was enacted for a 20-year period, this industrial/commercial facility must be in a settlement area or business park.
CARA has additional concerns related to the increased traffic on Airport Road and with the aesthetics. Tourism is a major contributor to the economy of the local area. Replacing pristine farmland with a large industrial/commercial facility and 30 parked large diesel trucks or truck trailers would be very unwise.
To be clear, CARA applauds Steer and its owner for building a successful business in Glen Huron serving farmers and other large vehicle operators, and would like to see this business be even more successful. CARA supports the expansion of the business and the creation of eight additional jobs in Clearview Township, provided the expanded business is located on lands currently zoned for commercial or industrial uses and the new jobs do not require a noisy business to operate after 7 p.m.
