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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-08-30 MinutesAgricultural Advisory Committee of Clarington Meeting Thursday, August 30, 2018 Members Present: Don Rickard Tom Barrie Ted Watson Brenda Metcalf Ben Eastman John Cartwright Henry Zekveld Les Caswell Regrets: Jennifer Knox, Richard Rekker, Eric Bowman, Councillor Wendy Partner Guests: Jim Todd, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Staff: Amy Burke and Mark Jull, Planning Services; Brenda welcomed all to the meeting, with introductions. Adoption of Agenda 018-18 Moved by Les Caswell, seconded by John Cartwright "That the Agenda for August 30, 2018 be adopted" Carried Approval of Minutes 018-19 Moved by Ted Watson, seconded by Ben Eastman "That the minutes of the July 12, 2018 meeting be approved" Carried Presentation Jim Todd, Industrial Crop Specialist, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs re: Outdoor Cultivation of Hemp and Cannabis Jim Todd provided an overview of the state of the hemp and cannabis industry in Canada and current industry challenges with a focus on cultivation for medicinal purposes. A key difference between industrial hemp and cannabis grown for medicinal or recreational purposes is their respective THC levels, a psychoactive drug (very low in industrial hemp). Industrial hemp is one of the oldest cultivated plants in the world. Despite its dual crop value for fibre and seed, hemp has a long history of stigmatization and regulation. Commercial production of industrial hemp was legalized in Canada in 1998. Today, a Agricultural Advisory Committee of Clarington August 30, 2018 complex framework of regulatory and licencing requirements are administered by Health Canada and address importation, production (including seed varieties), plant composition, processing, possession, sale, and transportation. Regulatory changes introduced in 2018 now permit the sale of the parts of the industrial hemp plant that contain the cannabidiol (CBD) compound, subject to specific licencing requirements for both the seller and the purchaser. The CBD compound is found within the leaves and flowering parts of the plants and is recognized for its health benefits. With this change, industrial hemp now has three crop value streams — fibre, seed, and CBD. Jim Todd discussed with the committee industrial hemp crop growing conditions, harvesting strategies for the CBD containing plant components, and CBD processing requirements. Key challenges facing the industrial hemp production for the purposes of CBD include seed availability and type, weather, pest control, labour and security. Business Arising 407 Issues: Blackbird requested a noise exemption from Council at their meeting of July 3, 2018. Council approved the noise exemption contingent on Blackbird responding to the issues raised by the Agricultural Advisory Committee at the May meeting. An outstanding item relates to the process for deeming a complaint closed, including notification given to the complainant. The noise exemption permit has not been issued. Agricultural Policy for Agri -tourism: The Staff Report requested by Council in response to a June 25, 2018 delegation regarding Agri -Tourism and Special Event Considerations for On -Farm Diversified Uses, will be on the Planning and Development Committee September 10, 2018 meeting agenda. The report will include details on how agri- tourism, special events and other on-farm diversified uses are being examined through the comprehensive zoning by-law review, and consultation on this topic that has occurred with the Committee previously during the Official Plan Review and now as part of the zoning by-law review. Council and Committee Reports Council Items: None Durham Agriculture Advisory Committee: DAAC Annual Farm Tour will take place on September 13 at Reesor Elevators. The tour will cover a variety of topics, including: crop production; different types of crops produced locally; farm equipment; handling, storage and process; marketing; and end use consumer products. Durham Region Federation of Agriculture: (Durham Farm Connections) The annual High School Program is taking place on September 27 at Clarington Central Secondary School. Clarington Board of Trade: A number of the Committee members have participated in filming for the Real Dirt on Agriculture video. The video is targeted for completion by the Annual Mayor's Address on September 21, 2018. Amy Burke joined representatives from CBOT on August 30 for a farm tour event at ValleyBio, located in Cobden, Ontario. The day provided insight and education focused on industrial hemp farming and industry information. Highlights includes a tour of Agricultural Advisory Committee of Clarington August 30, 2018 ValleyBio's hemp seed research plots, an informative presentation about the industrial hemp industry, its future, and current challenges, and combine and harvest demonstrations. A video available on the ValleyBio website (www.valleybio.com) provide an introduction to the agricultural production of industrial hemp. Local farmers who may have an interest in a local hemp seed trial plot should contact ValleyBio. New Business Emergency Contact Sheet: An emergency contact sheet for agricultural -related matters was distributed to the Committee for updating. Please send any revisions and additions to Faye Langmaid. LPAT Decision on an Agri -tourism Use: On July 25, 2018 the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal issued their decision regarding the application submitted by Deborah and Oswin Mathias to amend Zoning By-law 84-63 to permit meat processing and a special event venue as on-farm diversified use on their existing farm. As requested, a copy of the LPAT decision will be distributed to the Committee and is available on the Environment & Land Tribunals Ontario website (www.elto.gov.on.ca). Council is obligated to follow the recommendations of LPAT with regard to the passing of a zoning amendment for the on-farm diversified meat processing use, this will go to Council in September. Clarington Museum Children's Exhibit: The Clarington Museum is looking for fieldstone to build a wall as part of a children's exhibit that is partially urban and partially rural. Contact Katherine Warren, Interim Executive Director of the Clarington Museum, for details. Agricultural Advisory Committees Review: The Greenbelt Foundation and the Greater Golden Horseshoe Food and Farming Alliance are collaborating to undertake a study of the experiences and influence of agricultural advisory committees in Ontario. Faye Langmaid and Amy Burke recently participated in an interview about the AACC. The estimated timeline for public release is late October 2018. Future Agendas Health Canada representative to discuss the concerns heard at the July 12, 2018 AACC meeting regarding the Pest Management Regulatory Agency's re-evaluation of EBDC as it relates to fruit and vegetables. Clarington Planning to share details of the agricultural sector evaluation completed as part of the Clarington Community Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory Update (to be completed in September 2018). ZONE Clarington — draft proposed zoning by-law (anticipated for release fall 2018). John is working on invitation to the Premier. John Cartwright moved to Adjourn. Next Meeting: Thursday, October 11, 2018 @ 7:30 pm Sgt. James Lamothe, DRPS and Clarington EFS Chief Gord Weir — Farm Safety and Emergency Contacts Agricultural Advisory Committee of Clarington August 30, 2018 Agricultural Advisory Committee of Clarington Meeting Thursday, October 11, 2018 Members Present: Tom Barrie Ted Watson Les Caswell Eric Bowman Richard Rekker Ben Eastman John Cartwright Henry Zekveld Regrets: Don Rickard Brenda Metcalf Jennifer Knox Councillor Wendy Partner Guests: Gord Weir, Clarington Emergency and Fire Services P.C. Tracey Weightman, Durham Regional Police Service Staff: Lisa Backus, Planning Services Eric welcomed all to the meeting, with introductions. Adoption of Agenda 018-20 Moved by Ben Eastman, seconded by Les Caswell "That the Agenda for October 11, 2018 be adopted" Carried Approval of Minutes 018-21 Moved by Ted Watson, seconded by John Cartwright "That the minutes of the August 30, 2018 meeting be approved" Carried Guests P.C. Tracey Weightman, Durham Region Police Services Tracey preferred to respond to questions and have a discussion with the Committee. The Committee provided Tracey with a copy of the Top 10 Agricultural Facts for Police Officers that the AACC had developed a number of years ago and recently revised. Through anecdotal stories by committee members, many of these Top 10 issues were conveyed with specific examples. DRPS and member insights were shared. Tracey would appreciate receiving this document electronically to share with her colleagues. Agricultural Advisory Committee of Clarington October 11, 2018 The Committee spoke about slow moving vehicles during the harvest season. It was discussed that in addition to many of the other awareness campaigns, a public education regarding farm vehicles etc. is a topic that needs more attention. Tracey indicated she would raise this issue with her colleagues in Traffic. Many other traffic related questions arose and it was suggested that a meeting at the new East Division headquarters focusing on traffic issues would be appropriate. The AACC would also appreciate a tour of the new facility. Gord Weir, Fire Chief, Emergency and Fire Services. Chief Weir provided an overview of many recent initiatives that will benefit Clarington Residents. Chief Weir has been aggressively lobbying the Provincial government to grant all emergency vehicles the right to use blue lights. Blue lights have a greater visibility in both day and night conditions. Thanks to Chief Weir efforts legislation was recently passed to allow both Fire and Ambulances to use blue lights. In addition, the Province has announced that by 2023 all Provincial Emergency Responders will switch to the P25 operating system which allows direct communication between all Emergency Responders including (OPP, Fire, local Police, MNRF). Currently, in Durham Region, only Fire and Police use this system. This past week, the Durham Fire Chiefs have launched a public awareness campaign regarding working smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors. https://www.d u rhamregion. com/news-story/8956618-d u rham-fire-ch iefs-step-u p -efforts - to -promote -smoke -carbon -monoxide -alarms/. AACC members had several questions about Smoke Alarms. Chief Weir also offered information with respect to smoke and carbon monoxide detectors in rental units and temporary living quarters. Chief Weir was asked about Forest Fires. Chief advised that he is a member of a group that meets quarterly to discuss the large forests in the area including the East Cross and Ganaraska Forests. This group is attended by a number of first responders including the OPP, Fire, Paramedics, MNRF. Clarington Fire staff receive forest fire training. Both Tracey and Gord discussed biosecurity with the AACC. They indicated that similar to some industrial sites, farm operations may pose a threat to emergency responders by their very nature, or vice versa, this information should be conveyed to Fire and Police for input into their tracking system so that responders are aware when they attend the site. AACC shared that the Ontario Soil and Crop Association hosts BioSecurity Courses http://www.ontariosoilcrop.org/oscia-programs/workshops- webinars/biosecurity-webinar/?tribe paged=1 &tribe event display=list&tribe-bar- search=biosecurity DRPS may be interested in attending. Chief Weir also advised he attended a presentation by the Ontario Livestock and Poulty Council regarding barn(livestock) fires. The link to their website is http://www.ontlpc.ca/index.php. Business Arising No Business Arising Council and Committee Reports Council Items: None Agricultural Advisory Committee of Clarington October 11, 2018 Durham Agriculture Advisory Committee: DAAC Annual Farm Tour took place on September 13 at Reesor Elevators. The tour covered a variety of topics, including: crop production; different types of crops produced locally; farm equipment; handling, storage and process; marketing; and end use consumer products. It was reported that this event was well attended by both farmers, and non -farmers. Durham Region Federation of Agriculture: (Durham Farm Connections) Richard Rekker provided both a written and verbal account of the latest meeting (August 27), the Farm Transition Workshop and the viewing of the movie "Food Evolution". Summary was circulated by e-mail prior to the meeting. The Committee briefly discussed GMO and non-GMO farming practices. Ongoing Business: Emergency Contact Sheet: An emergency contact sheet for agricultural -related matters was distributed to the Committee for updating. Please send any revisions and additions to Faye Langmaid. Future Agendas Clarington Planning to share details of the agricultural sector evaluation completed as part of the Clarington Community Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory Update (to be completed in September 2018). ZONE Clarington — draft proposed zoning by-law (anticipated for release fall 2018). CLOCA staff regarding Watershed Planning Meeting and tour of East Division Headquarters. Focus on Traffic with DRPS staff. John is working on invitation to the Premier. John Cartwright moved to Adjourn. Next Meeting: Thursday, November, 2018 @ 7:30 pm Tracey Webster and Amy Burke, Planning Services Dept. Agricultural Advisory Committee of Clarington October 11, 2018 Agricultural Advisory Committee of Clarington Meeting Thursday, November 8, 2018 Members Present: Don Rickard Tom Barrie Ted Watson Brenda Metcalf Richard Rekker John Cartwright Henry Zekveld Les Caswell Regrets: Ben Eastman, Jennifer Knox, Eric Bowman, Councillor Wendy Partner Guests: Beth Meszaros, Mary -Ann Muizelaar, Lou Speziale, Peter Speziale Staff: Amy Burke, Carlo Pellarin, Faye Langmaid, Tracey Webster - Planning Services Brenda welcomed all to the meeting, with introductions. Faye informed the committee of Councillor Partner's thank you to committee members for their service and how much she had enjoyed and learned as a member of the committee over the past 8 years. Adoption of Agenda 018-22 Moved by Tom Barrie, seconded by Richard Rekker "That the Agenda for November 8, 2018 be adopted" Carried Approval of Minutes 018-23 Moved by Les Caswell, seconded by Ted Watson "That the minutes of the October 11, 2018 meeting be approved" Carried Presentation Amy Burke and Tracey Webster provided an update on the status of the zoning by-law review project, ZONE Clarington. A first draft zoning by-law will be released in the coming week for public comment. It will be available at www.clarington.net/zoneclarington. The first draft includes updated general provisions that apply to all of Clarington as well as rural zoning regulations and mapping. An interactive eMap is also available that shows the current zoning and proposed zoning for land parcels within the Municipality. Four open house sessions, three of which will Agricultural Advisory Committee of Clarington November 8, 2018 be held in rural area locations, will be held in late January / early February. Open house dates will be advertised on the project website and in local newspapers. Proposed permitted primary agricultural uses, on-farm diversified uses, and agriculture - related uses were reviewed. These have been determined based on Staff research and previous AACC input. Notably, the first draft will propose that farm event venues and farm related industrial establishments require site specific rezoning, thereby requiring them to be examined on a case-by-case basis. Comments from early discussion with the AACC regarding other agricultural zoning matters were recapped, along with how the matters are addressed in the first draft zoning by-law. AACC members sought clarity on the proposed regulation to restrict on-farm diversified uses to 2% of an Agricultural zoned property, for example where farmland is only temporarily used but is otherwise put into production. Where production lands and buildings serve a dual purpose, these dual purpose lands will not be included in the percent coverage calculation. Two additional areas of consultation with the AACC were brought forward — Minimum Distance Separation setback options and conditions for applying site plan control to on-farm diversified uses. Staff will prepare workbooks relating to both matters to guide future discussion with the AACC. Business Arising None Council and Committee Reports Council Items: None Durham Agriculture Advisory Committee: DAAC has advertised for new appointments. Eric was the cross-over member, he is not reapplying. It is preferred to have an AACC member also as a member of DAAC as the linkage between the two committees is much better when this occurs. If you are interested please apply. Durham Region Federation of Agriculture: (Durham Farm Connections) No report from DRFA. Farm Connections Agricultural Gala was on October 25th, 2018. Mitch Morawetz was recognized with the Leadership Award (for those under 40), Bowmanview/Gallery on the Farm, Eric Bowman's family were recognized as the Farm Family Award and two local families were honoured for 150 years of farming, Marvin Stapleton and Charles Stevens families. Great night as a fundraiser with over 300 in attendance. Clarington Board of Trade: A number of the Committee members have participated in filming for the Real Dirt on Agriculture video. The video was recently posted to YouTube and can be viewed at https://www.Voutube.com/watch?v=BJ9iR Uqazq. Brenda and Don were congratulated on their starring roles in the video. New Business Durham Communitv Climate Adaatation Plan Aaricultural Sector Feedback Reauest: Don Rickard, co -Chair of the Task Force, explained that opportunities and risks to the agricultural sector relating to climate change and preliminary adaptation programs have been identified. Feedback on these is being sought and should be submitted to the Region (kristykilbourne(cbdurham.ca) by November 16, 2018. Feedback will be Agricultural Advisory Committee of Clarington August 30, 2018 considered in the development of a Regional Agricultural Climate Change Adapatation Strategy, to be released in draft in early 2019. Emergency Contact Test for Nuclear: Some members of the committee were notified about a test of the alert system for Darlington Nuclear but did not receive any messaging. Faye will pass this along to OPG and DEMO for their follow-up. Communicating Agriculture to Municipal Council - a Community of Practice webinar, Faye circulated the information on this earlier in the month and you can sign up on the website. Broadband: The Federal and Provincial governments announced that they would be working on a joint strategy for rural areas. THEE Farmer's Parade of Lights is December 5t" starting in Enniskillen at 6:00 pm and getting to Tyrone by about 7:30 pm. Brenda offered her driveway to those that wish to park in that location. Future Agendas Health Canada representative to discuss the concerns heard at the July 12, 2018 AACC meeting regarding the Pest Management Regulatory Agency's re-evaluation of EBDC as it relates to fruit and vegetables. Clarington Planning to share details of the agricultural sector evaluation completed as part of the Clarington Community Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory Update (to be completed in September 2018). John is working on invitation to the Premier. Faye has been in contact with Tracey Weightman, DRPS about a tour/meeting at the detachment in Maple Grove. Don Rickard moved to Adjourn. Next Meeting: Thursday, December 13, 2018 @ 7:30 pm Angela Porteous and Heather Brooks on CLOCA Watershed Planning, Bowmanville/Soper Creek and Black/Harmony/Farewell Creek (Most of the former Darlington Township). Agricultural Advisory Committee of Clarington August 30, 2018