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The Rural Voice, 1981-05, Page 12�o EaQh co:!TAy hao, i i ©WM 3CA Off t?Q @ by Alice Gibb To paraphrase Shakespeare. one might say "to sever or not to sever. that is the question." The issue of whether or not to sever agriculturally -zoned land for re- sidential purposes is one that plagues councils. planning officers, the farming community and agricultural pressure groups. There are those who believe if a man owns land. he should be able to do with it as he chooses. That includes severing an acre of his farm to build a retirement home, a home for other family members or to sell to urban buyers with a yen for country life. But planners. municipal councils and farm or- ganizations are increasingly adopting the viewpoint that prime agricultural land must be preserved, not carved up for housing Tots. Rural Voice contacted four county planning departments to discover how regulations governing farm severances compare in Perth, Huron, Bruce and Grey Counties. Perth County doesn't yet have an overall county -wide official plan. Instead. the county was divided into five planning districts and each district drew up its own land use policies. In ,the Blanshard Township planning area, the only farm severances allowed are for farming purposes, or severances of surplus farmhouses. Severances aren't allowed for retirement homes or to provide homes for family members. The surplus farmhouse situation doesn't have to be on two farms abutting each other. the extra home could be on a second farm owned anywhere in the municipality. Farmers in Blanshard can build a second home on their farm. but they can't ever sever the house and property. In the central planning district. which includes Downie. Ellice. and North and South Easthope townships, regulations are much the same - no severances for retirement homes. but surplus farmhouse severances are allowed. Ellice. South and North Easthope townships allow the construction of a second dwelling on a farm. with no severance now or in the future. but Downie Township does not. Modular or mobile homes can be erected on farms subject to approval of municipal councils. and they are not considered permanent dwellings. In the Mitchell and district zone. which includes Logan, Hibbert and Fullarton Townships. surplus farmhouse severances are permissible. and sever- ances for retiring farmers or for sons and daughters actively engaged in farming may be allowed, subject to council's approval. Mobile homes are allowed, subject to acreage size of the site where they're parked, and no more than one is allowed on a farm. Second homes aren't allowed on the same farm. In the North Perth planning area. Elma and Wallace townships, surplus farmhouses can be severed in the event of farm consolidation. and a son. daughter or farm employee can be permitted to sever land if they are in fulltime employment on the farm. This means the land could conceivably be sold to a non-farm resident in the future. Farm retirement severances are not permitted. Both townships however. do allow mobile homes as temporary residences. subject to minimum lot size agreements. Thesc homes are to be removed from farms when the need for them ends. The fifth planning district, the Milverton and Mornington township area, recently reviewed its official plan. which is now before the Ministry of Housing for final approval. The townships do not allow severances for non-farm residential use. for retirement homes or for sons or daughters still actively engaged in farming. However. the district does allow a second home on the farm if the farmer understands that home can never be severed. County planner Dave Hanley said he understands PG. 10 THE RURAL VOICE/MAY 1981