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Home My WebLink AboutGoderich Signal Star, 2017-01-25, Page 9Natural Heritage Plan faces opposition Justine Alkema and elected councillors are Postmedia responsible for carrying out those functions,' explained Tousaw. "In past, we had mapping of areas [of natural environment], but it wasn't a scientific analysis and modeling of those systems: Tousaw said that for decades in the county, it has always been that landowners were not allowed to build on. areas of their land that were designated as nat- ural heritage. There was also a buffer zone around those areas of 120 metres around provincially significant lands (wetlands) and 50 metres around locally signifi- cant lands (woodlots, meadows, streams). The first draft of the Natural Heritage Plan suggested that 120 metres be the standard for all areas, but at Jan. 11's meet- ing, county councillors voted to keep the buffer as it is with 50 and 120 metre zones. Tousaw specified that these are not "no build" zones, but they are "review zones", meaning they may require an environ- mental impact study. "The question is, does the pro- posed building have a negative effect on the adjacent feature, and usually the answer is no," said Tousaw. "If the answer is yes, we ask how it can be mitigated so development can still go on:' However Tousaw noted that most people don't request to build near or on a natural herit- age area. He said they receive around 180 planning applications per year, and around two of those require an environmental impact study due to being in the buffer zone of a natural heritage area. Bev Hill thought differently about the plan. First, he said, there was a time, even if it was decades ago, that there was no buffer zone at all. Even if regula- tions were there previously around these natural areas, he argued that this plan brings them to light. On this point, his main argu- ment was that the plan is a solu- tion to a problem that does not exist. He argued that the large majority of farmers, who are most affected by this plan, are very mindful of the natural envi- ronment due to the nature of their jobs. He said information from the county has showed that within 40 years, tree coverage has grown from 12.9 -16.8 per cent "Since 2008, we've planed 150 hectares of forest;' he said. "Also Huron County's Natural 1 lerit- age Plan - is it a beneficial, needed protection of natural areas or just more unnecessary "red tape"? Varna area farmer Bev 11111 believes it's the later, and he expressed this at 1 iuron County's Committee of the Whole meeting last Wednesday, with the support of many citizens in the gallery. The Natural Heritage plan has been in the works for around five years, and within the last couple months, it has created a stir among some local landowners who believe it creates a bureau- cratic burden on residents. The first draft of the plan was presented to councilin Septem- ber Several public meetings fol- lowed in October attracting nega- tive feedback from the Huron -Perth Landowners Asso- ciation and other residents con- cemed about the regulations out- lined in the plan The county created the plan under the directive of the provin- cial government that mandated they create one. However, County Planner Scott Tousaw said that similar regulations have been in place for decades in the county, and the plan is largely better sci- ence and updating mapping. Photos used for identify- ing areas as natural environment were taken in 2006, and with more accurate technology better map- ping can be done. Several thou- sand acres will change their desig- nation under this new plan, some to recognize agricultural uses and some to recognize natural areas. However 20% of Huron County is designated as natural environ- ment, which is around 168,000 acres, so several thousand acres is relatively small. The provincial policy state- ment, which initiated the pro- cess, stated, "natural heritage sys- tems shall be identified". Tousaw said the key word here is "sys- tems:' A large definition of the word and expectations were given in the statement When the Official Plan of the county was discussed, council consented to creating a new pol- icy in the Official Plan to better outline a model of these systems to meet the provincial require- ment. This is what started the Natural Heritage Plan "The province sets out expec- tations, and planning authorities through clean water initiatives, we've improved the quality of waterr" Ills point was that farmers have done all this not through regulations, but through incentives. Ile expressed concern over what he called a "growing bureaucracy': "I don't anticipate this pro- gram having any significance on me personally," he said. "It will affect future generations, though, and it will become a burden because of the erosion of prop- erty rights and red tape that will be a part of the process of doing business. We've got enough red tape as it is:' He said there is a trend of increasing regulations, and "at some point in time, 1 wouldn't be surprised if regula- tions [on this topic] don't increase again. Hill emphasized that he was not against council. "I think it's commendable that these folks are trying to make our community a better place to live; he said. At the meeting, Hill said that there had not been enough public notice, and council voted to add extra public meetings in 2017. "Council has recognized this issue, so they are extending the period for public to get involved He said he takes issue with the suggestion that the plan was the result of a provincial policy state- ment with no alternative but to comply. "Even if it is a directive, I think it's time our county stood up and said no, we aren't going to do that, because it isn't going to be of benefit to us:' Hill sees one area of the "grow- ing bureaucracy" in the planning department of the county, as cre- ating this new plan for something that is basically already in place is a large use of time and resources from the department. He said planning departments are grow- ing too large, including in Blue - water, where he lives. Some councilors sided with Hill including councilors Jim Donnelly and Neil Vincent. Councillor Donnelly praised Hill's presentation as "extremely powerful': However most were generally still approving of the plan's existence, though they voted to extend public comment period and keep the buffer zone of locally significant areas at 50 metres. Natural Heritage Plan faces opposition Wednesday, January 25, 2017 • Signal Star 9 goderichsignalstar.com RE/MAX® Land Exchange Ltd. 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