Commission says no to adding escarpment land

The Niagara Escarpment Commission (NEC) has unanimously agreed that no land should be added to the Niagara Escarpment Plan (NEP) at this time.

The commission made up of representatives of the counties in the Niagara Escarpment land area made the decision based on the recommendation of NEC staff at its Nov. 17 meeting.

It also decided additions to the NEP area be considered as part of a provincially-led process to grow the Greenbelt, which should engage municipalities, stakeholders and Indigenous communities as partners in a collaborative process to further refine potential additions to the NEP area, and to evaluate the impact of Conservation Land Tax Incentive Program on municipal revenues and explore ways to mitigate these impacts.

Mulmur Township councillor Janet Horner represents Dufferin County at the table. Mulmur has been very vocal about its opposition to the proposed additions to the NEP, as part of a 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. The Niagara Escarpment Plan Review proposed almost doubling the amount of Mulmur land, adding 5,565 hectares to the existing 6,988 hectares.

Horner said the NEC has made its recommendation to the minister and although the final decision lies with the ministry, the commission is saying, at this time, it is not a good idea to add new lands to the Niagara Escarpment and there has been significant pushback from the municipalities on that issue.

“The commission, after conducting their meetings with the public and hearings… There were 1,900 and some responses sent it to the four-plan review process and 1,000 of those had to do with the NEC specifically,” said Horner. “It’s kind of funny, there was a fair amount of support for adding the lands to the NEC in municipalities or from people who don’t live in the area but those municipalities that were directly affected were vehemently opposed.”

She said maybe, if the conservation land tax exemption model were changed, there may have been a greater acceptance of added lands.

“And the fact that the government could not articulate what kind of additional controls they were going to put on lands, like the Mansfield Ski Club and more urban areas, there were going to be some restrictions and they weren’t very well articulated on what affect that would have on the zoning… There weren’t any clear answers,” said Horner.

She said they weren’t saying no indefinitely, but until a time when the advantages are clearly communicated.

The review included exploring the addition of one million acres, which 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.

“It’s huge,” said Horner. “It’s a big, big thing to have happen from the Commission point of view.”

The final recommendation from the ministry on the Coordinated Land Use Planning Review is expected in the spring or summer.