Farmers question additional unit rules
There is still time to weigh in on Clearview Township’s draft comprehensive zoning bylaw. A gathering at town hall this week was originally billed as a public meeting to present the draft bylaw, but after the flood of input at an open house held in late September, the decision was made to turn Wednesday’s meeting into a working session.
A new timetable will see public comments received until Nov. 5, followed by a public meeting at a later date, possibly followed by a second comment period before the bylaw with all recommended changes is eventually presented to council for a vote.
One of the more contentious topics covered in the draft bylaw is additional residential units (ARUs). Consultant Dave Ashton of MHBC Planning told the meeting the proposed bylaw will allow two ARUs per lot within settlement areas including Creemore, Stayner, and New Lowell, and one ARU per lot outside settlement areas. Within farm building clusters on agricultural or rural properties, one ARU would be permitted.
Speaking on behalf of her family that operates a five-generation farm near Singhampton, Chantelle Leimgardt challenged the logic saying, “On my small lot in Stayner, I can have two ARUs, but my brother who has 100 acres can have only one. ARUs are important for farmers because lot severances are very complicated and this makes it easier for extended families to stay in the area and keep farming.”
Brother Justin Leimgardt asked, “Isthereaplansothatin20or30or 50 years, when older farmers have retired and severed small lots, will we have a lot of 98-acre properties that you can’t build on?”
Mayor Doug Measures said, “We’ll have to deal with that question when we get there. Every threat to agricultural lands is taken very seriously.” He added, “Chances are the boundaries of our settlement area may change in the future.”
On-farm diversified uses (OFDUs) were another hot topic. Ashton said the proposed bylaw will still limit OFDUs to two per cent lot coverage but the new version includes “as of right” language which should streamline approvals.
Farmer Henry Brubacher said streamlining the process is essential.
“I’ve been working at my application for two- and-a-half years,” he said. “I’d like to look at buying some additional farms because the 100-acre family farm is no longer self sustaining. OFDUs make buying more farms attractive but not if every application takes more than two years. That is just not going to work for us.”
Ashton said the intent of the new rules is to make it easier to get approval for an OFDU, but Monica Branigan said, while she applauds the intent, there is nothing in the new zoning bylaw that will actually make it easier.
“Lumping all OFDUs together doesn’t make sense,” she said. “They are not all the same. No farmer is going to do an OFDU if it’s going to take years to recover the permit costs.”
Branigan suggested that maybe smaller risks should require fewer studies, and they may not all need to be done by pricey consultants.
One concern which was not addressed at the meeting was the potential impact of changes to environmental protection (EP) zones. The township is working with the county to update EP designations, but until that mapping is available, no decisions can be made. Ashton said that will probably not happen until sometime in the New Year.
Comments on the draft zoning bylaw can be submitted online at www.clearview.ca/node/13813.
