The Exeter Times-Advocate, 1974-12-23, Page 9, ^ I
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May its arrival fill hearts, homes
with joy. Thanks for your confidence,
a
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Peace on Earth
May the many
blessings of Christmas • • ,/+*.
dwell with us
always.
•
DIAL 235-0970
Main St. South
Exeter
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PHOTOGRAPHER
Tie up Christmas
with a ribbon of
happiness. Share
each merry moment
with people near
and dear to you.
May we take
this time to send
you all our
brightest greetings
for the Yuletide
season, and
Our sincere
thanks for your
kind support.
From
• Brian • Dunc • Shirley
• Diane • Carol • Nancy
4 • Margaret • Pat • Joe
• Ron and Ruth Ann
Times-Advocate, December 23, 1974 Page.9
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Emphasis Qn urban development farm land .being nibbled
uron's study on country planning
Sherwood (Exeter) Ltd.
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Your Massey Ferguson Dealer
EXETER 235-0743
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May the gala
old-fashioned spirit of
the holidays brighten
your lives and hearts.,.
thanks for being such
good friends and patrons. A
Sharen Realty
and Insurance
Grand Bend
238-2303
The comprehensive and
sometimes controversial UDIRA
study (Urban Development in
Rural Areas) continued at Huron
County Council last Thursday as
members from all municipalities
as well as incoming represen-
tatives listened to a day-long
presentation of Dr. Ted Hadwen's
findings after interviewing a
sampling of Huron County
citizens in various walks of life,
and the initial draft of a report
compiled by James F. MaeLaren
Limited, environmental con-
sultants, entitled Countryside
Planning,
The special meeting held in the
basement of the new assessment
building was called to hear and
discuss some of the material in
the UDIRA study which is
costing over $100,000 (with 80
percent of the expenses picked up
by the province) and has taken a
year and a half to complete thus
far,
Although time for questioning
was limited because of the
tremendous volume of material
to be perused, initial reaction of
some county councillors showed
disappointment that the study
had more emphasis on urban
development than on the
agricultural base of the county.
While MacLaren associates
and Dr, Hadwen argued other-
wise, Don Pullen, Huron County
Agricultural Representative for
the Ontario Ministry of
Agriculture and Food, summed it
up by saying that planning for
agriculture consists of "that
which is left over" in the study as
presented.
"And apparently that's what
society wants," he stated,
Gerry Ginn, incoming reeve of
Goderich Township, told the
meeting of the need to preserve
prime agricultural land.
"They're just not making it any
•
more," he told council.
Mr. Ginn complained about the
study's recommendation that
more land surrounding the five
major growth areas in the county
- Exeter, Seaforth, Clinton,
Goderich and Wingharn - be
slated for urban development in
the years ahead.
"Our planning is still urban
oriented," Ginn insisted, "I had
hoped the UDIRA study would be
more rural."
It, was explained to Mr. Ginn
that despite what was common
opinion it was not the growth of
urban centres which would
eventually take the most
agricultural land out of
production. The problem, ac-
cording to the experts present,
could be traced to scattered
random urban-like developments
throughout the rural areas. This
was termed "nibbling away at
farmland" and is the,typeof rural
land use the UDIRA study seeks
to control,
According to Steven Janes,
study director for MacLaren,
there has already been some
indication from Toronto that
broad land use policies are
coming from the provincial level.
With the UDIRA study in Huron
being the pilot project in the
province, Mr. Janes has ex-
pressed his hope that the "per-
spective methodology"
developed by the study here will
be adopted across the entire
province to achieve "a new
rationale for rural planning".
He has asked county officials
and other interested persons to
examine the methodology in the
study and to forward all ob-
jections and suggestions to the
study team by February 28, 1975,
This report deals with such
things as potential planning
perspective in Huron County;
the agricultural perspective;
urban perspectives as they relate
to the fringe areas; recreation
perspective; and the evaluation
of existing policies affecting
urban development in rural
areas.
By Mr. Janes' own admission,
the document is lengthy and
complicated. It will involve some
lengthy, intensive study by
county councillors and others.
The report itself sets out one
main objective: "To resolve
conflicts between competing land
uses in a rural area requires the
setting of land use priorities just
like priorities are set for an urban
area. Portions of the urban en-
vironment for example are
designated as residential areas.
Within these areas the residence,;
has top priority and only sup-
portive or complementary uses
are permitted. Other areas are
designated industrial with a
different set of use restrictions.
Cases of conflict are resolve in
favor of the priority land use and
long range goals."
Whether or not Huron County
farmers are ready for this type of
land use planning in rural areas
has yet to be determined. There
was some argument at Thur-
sday's meeting which would
indicate that while farmers say
they want to protect and preserve
agricultural land, they wish to
retain the right to make their own
desicions about their own
property without any planning
restrictions to hamper them,
Reeve Deb Shewfelt called it
being "strangled". He was
referring in the first place to the
feeling of some. urban centres
that they are being "strangled"
from further growth because of
the desire to save prime
agriculture land for food
issues, but when general attitude
questions were asked, *hick
suggests that planners should be
aware of a contradictory
emotional field underlying the
apparent willingness of the public
to entertain more in the way of
land use regulations.
"Cottagers may be typical of
people coming to Huron County
from elsewhere, in that they are
not so supportive of protection for
farmland, but are willing to
entertain restrictions on the use
of land. They may want to be able
to buy land, but appear to dislike
the notion that the character of
the surrounding countryside
might change in a way unat-
tractive to them.
"When the whole issue of non.
farmers moving into the coun-
tryside was explored farmers,
wherever located, fixed the
acceptable proportion of non-
farm residents in a rural area at
between five and ten percent but
tended towards the lower figure,
It is interesting that townspeople
in Huron County would set this
figure slightly higher, but still in
the vicinity of ten percent.
"Both townspeople and cot-
tagers doubted that non-farmers
were very different kinds of
people from farmers, nor were
farmers much concerned on this
point, though those close to towns
or the lakeshore were more
conscious of differences.
"There were, however, several
potential conflicts of interest
mentioned, usually more often by
farmers than by other respon-
dents, such as the effect non-
farmers can have on the price of
land and the likelihood of their
complaining about farm odours,
(While farmers thought any kind
of farming should be allowed
within 3 miles of a town or 1,12 mile
of the lakeshore highway, some
of the townspeople and cottagers
did wish hog and poultry
operations farther away.)
"Farmers near the lakeshore
were concerned that an increase
of non-farmers might create a
traffic problem, while the
Please turn to page 11
a.WeaWiz•Win;7
"Without repeating the
detailed analysis contained in the
preceding sections, it seems
appropriate at this point to sum
up some of the major findings of
the study;
',Mere was general agreement
amongst all the types of
respondents interviewed that
agriculture must remain the
principal use of rural land in
Huron County because of the
availability of good productive
farmland in the area. The
decision to protect agricultural
land was thought by most to be
one which municipal or possibly
county government should make,
though present county land use
regulations, and government
policies in general, were already
perceived to be helpful.
"Farmers, whether located in
primarily agricultural areas, in
areas where towns and
agriculture are adjacent, or in
areas where agriculture and
cottages are adjacent, are very
receptive to the general notion of
restrictions on the sale of far-
mland which limit it to
agriculture or agriculture related
use, They seem open to the
possibility that housing for non-
farmers, retired farmers, and
even hired men might be tied to
existing towns, villages and
hamlets.
"They oppose unrestricted
development along highways and
are unsympathetic to the hydro's
need for rural property, but
support the need for conservation
of water and forestry resources.
"Farmers differ markedly
from townspeople and cottagers
in the degree of their opposition
to the sale of farmland to non-
farmers, though they are
prepared to see pockets of poor
land, such as ravines, sold to such
individuals.
"A latent problem in rural land
use planning was revealed by the
conflicting value positions taken
by many respondents in this
survey. There is general support
for some form of protection for
farmland, and for the notion that
once such land is sold little can be
done to control its use or resale;
but on the other hand many
people still balk at the thought
that landowners might be faced
by regulations telling them what
they could and could not do with
their property.
"This conflict appeared, not so
much in response to questions
regarding specific land use
production, while in the second
place rural dwellers feel
"strangled" because urban
development is encroaching on
prime farmland.
But while the Countryside
Planning report brought before
the meeting clearly showed that
the fringe areas around the five
towns would have some farmland
slated for urban development in
the future, the fear was soon
expressed by some represen-
tatives at the meeting that far-
mland within that designated
fringe area would immediately
become more valuable than the
same type of farmland outside
that fringe area.
What are the attitudes of Huron
County residents towards the
major issues underlying the
proposed methodology of land
use planning?
Dr. Hadwen's study team
talked to 400 persons all across
the county - 80 citizens in urban
areas, 80 cottagers, 80 farmers in
a recreation-type area, 80 far-
mers adjacent to urban areas,
and 80 farmers in strictly rural
areas.
According to Dr. Hadwen the
findings showed that in general,
the public is informed about the
need for land use planning in
rural areas, and is "pretty
willing to think about it".
"The average Huron County
citizen is not mired in the past,"
said Dr. Hadwen. "People here
are not resistant to change but
want it to be consistent with the
best of the past."
"On the whole people of Huron
County have pretty common
agreement about major issues,"
Dr. Hadwen told the meeting.
"On most issues where planning
is concerned, you are not going to
find really gross differences
amongst and between the people
of the county."
Dr. Hadwen also alluded to a
study he has been doing con-
cerning the attitudes of Huron
County citizens toward municipal
government here.
"They have enormous con-
fidence in municipal government
in this area," he told the meeting.
He promised to have a more
detailed summary of his findings
to present to county council early
in the new year:
The following are the con-
clusions found by Dr. Hadwen in
his study into the attitudes of
Huron residents concerning land
use planning:
CHEERS
As clear as a bell —
that's how we hope
our good tidings to
you will ring out!
Jean and Connie
Style Beauty
Shop
HENSALL
Lots of old-fashioned cheer to
everyone. We hope Christmas is
a time for happy family gath-
erings.
You r business has been appreciated
and we look forward to serving you in 1974.
McKerlie Automotive Ltd.
329 Main St. South Exeter 235-1040
Pfiz.tAttiziWizWiZIW10.1NiZEINZIW WittAimNist,WizA*44i:11414iizIWitl4fizIWZ•WafEffe
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We're ringing out
best wishes to all our
friends and customers for a
Merry
Christmas
?iv
Drawn by Donna Voerman
Grade 6 — Exeter Public School
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And All
The Bes t
In The
Year
Ahead Betty
Bowerman
i • Velma
Huff
Kato
Campbell
•
'6:
A Karin OrtmannS Mary Irvine
Wayne and Jerry thank you for
your patronage in the past year
and look forward to serving
you in 1975.
Brunziow Signs MERNER'S :Mgt %%DISCOUNT
MAIN ST. CREDITON
433 Main St. Exeter 235.1661
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bASI-MOOD 237.3314
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