HomeMy WebLinkAboutGoderich 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
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