Land review could result in tax loss

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Mulmur Township is among area municipalities that could take a hit in tax revenue if proposed additions to the Niagara Escarpment Plan Area are approved.

A 2015 Niagara Escarpment Plan Review proposes almost doubling the amount of Mulmur land, adding 5,656 hectares to the existing 6,988 hectares. Lands designated natural area within the plan could qualify for a 100 per cent property tax exemption for land that has important natural heritage features under the Conservation Land Tax Incentive Program.

“The tax implication is going to be dreadful for Mulmur. If it goes through with all these designations we could lose up to $800,000 in taxes [annually] here in Mulmur,” said Mayor Paul Mills.

The proposal is part of a Coordinated Land Use Planning Review, led by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, that also includes the Growth Plan of the Greater Golden Horseshoe, the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan and the Greenbelt Plan.

“Between the Niagara Escarpment Commission (NEC) and the Green Belt they have 1.2 million acres in that area and the province’s long-term goal is to take another million acres into that catchment area, which is scary,” said Mills. “They did the mapping when Dufferin County didn’t even have a representative on the NEC board.”

Mulmur councillor Janet Horner is now the NEC representative for Dufferin County.

She said the addition of one million acres stems from a provincial mandate to almost double Ontario’s green belt, by including natural urban features, watersheds and expand Niagara Escarpment lands, based on revised criteria.

Mulmur is one of the areas most impacted but hardest hit is Grey County with 32,423 hectares of proposed additional lands including 21,323 hectares in Meaford alone, doubling the NEC lands there. Clearview is the only municipality impacted in Simcoe County, with 4,312 hectares proposed to be added, doubling its NEC lands.

In a first round of public consultation, Horner said, many stakeholders made submissions and all the comments have gone into the mix. The final report of the Advisory Panel for the Coordinated Review was released in December. Four ministries in total are involved in the review and the implementation of the recommendations.

“We are in this limbo stage where everything has been put into this big black hole and we are waiting to see what those ministries feel are the right approaches to the review of the four plans,” said Horner.

She and Mills say the municipality already has protection in place for ecologically sensitive lands.

“It’s just going to be duplication because we have our Official Plan and our bylaws and it protects all of this land,” said Mills.

“In all honesty, we like to protect our lands as much as anybody does so we are not against the protection of lands,” said Horner. “We believe in climate change mitigation and trying to keep our water clean. We believe in all of that and we practice it here in Mulmur but what happens when you draw a line on a map and start including new lands in a system that penalizes a township for providing those ecological goods and services? It’s a significant hit to the income of the township when it comes to providing services to the citizens, in keeping the roads clear, making sure we have infrastructure and water plants, recreation facilities if we have a significant hit to our bottom line.”

The issue was brought to council’s attention by staff and Mulmur has been talking with neighbouring municipalities that are affected.

Horner said they have been trying to provide the NEC with alternative designations for consideration to lessen the tax impact.

“If this happens there are some folks who are going to get a real big tax break but for the rest of us outside the red line that they want to take over, it could potentially mean a $400 per year increase in everybody else’s,” said Horner. “Our taxes are significant enough and no one wants to see a $400 hit on their taxes and that’s the thing, I don’t think the commission fully grasped the economic impact that such a move would make on a municipality.”

Mulmur will have a chance to comment during a 90-day consultation process once the review of the advisory panel’s report is complete

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