The Rural Voice, 1995-05, Page 59News & Advice
would be moved to "settlement
areas". What's more, under Bill 163,
there is no room for arguments of
justification for non-farm uses of
prime farmland except for the
expansion of settlement areas, and
even then there no expansion is
allowed on specialty crop lands such
as vineyards in the Niagara
Peninsula.
Many among the 95 people in
attendance felt Bill 163 locked
farmers into farming even if it was
unprofitable. "The message is you're
going to have to farm this land until
it destroys you economically," said
Mason Bailey, farmer and real estate
broker.
"Everything on this property
except George and his family are
protected," said Bill Wallace, past
president of the Huron Federation.
"Who does the farmer depend on?
Who's going to look after George's
concerns?"
But Neumann said that the
legislation is designed to protect the
livelihood of surrounding farmers.
from an incompatible land use.
Developer and hobby farmer
Mark Sully argued that by the time a
developer got a definite "no" from
OMAFRA he could already have
spent $40,000 on studies to satisfy
agencies like MNR and Municipal
Affairs. Neumann said that's why the
new legislation allowed up -front
consultation so people won't invest
too much money before getting an
indication of the barriers to approval.
One other scenario for the
Thompson farm was played out. If
the owner chose to stop farming and
sever the house and sell the rest of
the farm, few of the agencies would
be involved. About half the
townships in Huron County allow
severance of surplus farm residences
so it would depend on the township
involved. OMAFRA would want
proof that the severance was as small
as possible, accommodating only the
buildings and the well and septic
system. The Health Unit would
require that there be enough land for
installation of a new septic system if
the old one failed, and enough room
to drill a new well at a safe distance
from the septic system.°
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