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Home My WebLink About2010-06-10 Minutes CLARINGTON AGRICULTURAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING THURSDAY, JUNE 10, 2010 MEMBERS PRESENT: Tom Barrie Ted Watson Donald Rickard Gary Jeffery Brenda Metcalf Eric Bowman Marlene Werry— Durham Region Henk Mulders REGRETS: Mark Bragg Ross McMaster Councillor Gord Robinson ABSENT: Mary Ann Found Jennifer Knox Orwin Bandstra STAFF: Faye Langmaid Dean Jacobs GUESTS: Kathryn Kram - Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation Kathy McPherson — Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation (via tele-conference) ADOPTION OF AGENDA 10-17 Moved by Brenda Metcalf, seconded by Tom Barrie "That the Agenda for June 10, 2010 be adopted." "CARRIED" APPROVAL OF MINUTES 10-18 ' Moved by Eric Bowman, seconded by Ted Watson "That the minutes of the May 13, 2010 meeting be approved." "CARRIED" GUESTS: Kathryn Kram (Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation) Kathy McPherson (Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation — via tele- conference) Kathy McPherson, the Research and Policy Director for the Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation, provided a short background on the role of the Foundation and an introduction to the research project that the Greenbelt Foundation has completed which analyzed the extent to which land use regulation barriers affect value-added agriculture in Durham, York, Peel and Halton Regions. Kathryn Kram, a recent graduate from Ryerson University and member of the research team, provided a Power Point Presentation, highlighting the following: • The mandate and study approach: the focus of the study was narrowed to include a review of Regional Official Plans and interviews with a number of planners, an economic development officer and a farmer. • Background: o Earning extra income through a range of on-farm activities has become more important in helping farmers remain viable; o Farmers in GTA and across Ontario face increased dependence on off- farm income and there is a reluctance by the younger generation to enter the industry; o GTA farms face unique set of challenges and opportunities due to their close proximity to urban uses. • Defining "Value added agriculture" — looking at recent attempts to define the term; • Land Use Planning legislation and regulations and how it relates to agriculture and value added activities; • A summary of the interviews and results • Restrictions to using off-farm local products and PPS policies in general were seen as significant barriers; • MDS was generally seen as a barrier to farm expansion; • Prohibiting severances was not seen as barrier. • Findings of reviewing Regional Official Plans of Durham, York, Peel and Halton as they relate to value added activities; • Findings of lower-tier case studies: Clarington and Caledon Official Plans; • Directions for further research: approach further research from the lower level upwards and examine property tax issue, zoning to support co-operative processing, Development Permit System, and changes to the PPS. Questions/Answer Session: Henk expressed concern over MPAC's approach towards value added activities. Kathy stated that the Foundation have had discussions with OFA and OMAFRA to set up a committee to look into the taxation issue — current status unknown. Kathy and Kathryn feel that the Regional Policy seems to be broad enough, while local authority policies in terms of value added activities can be improved. Faye asked if the price of land inside the Greenbelt increased when the Greenbelt Plan was introduced and how does it compare with "white belt" lands? Kathy indicated that no comparison was done between the Greenbelt and the white belt lands, but MAPC assessment values did go up on all agricultural lands in the GTA. AACC June 10, 2010 Gary thanked Kathryn for attending and providing the information and invited her to stay for the remainder of the meeting. BUSINESS ARISING FROM MINUTES In response to the concerns expressed by the Committee regarding the application of the Minimum Distance Separation (MDS) formulae, and in view of the Provincial Policy Statement 2005, (PPS) that is currently being reviewed, the Committee passed the following motion: 10-19 Moved by Ted Watson, seconded by Tom Barrie "Whereas the Provincial Policy Statement, 2005 (PPS) is currently being reviewed and input is being sought on how it could be improved; And Whereas the PPS sets the policy foundation for regulating the development and use of land in Ontario; And Whereas the interface between agricultural lands and subdivisions (rural and urban) is an issue that requires the establishment of buffers for the long term viability of agriculture and will contribute to the quality of life for residents both urban and rural; Therefore be it resolved that as part of the review the Province establish policy direction for the implementation of buffers to protect agricultural operations where they abut urban boundaries; And further that this resolution and the attached information sheet be forwarded to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing and members of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario." CORRESPONDENCE A letter dated May 12, 2010 from the Mayor of Halton Hills that was presented to the Clarington Council on May 31, 2010, in which the Council is advised of a resolution by the Town of Halton Hills in which they urge the Government of Canada-to reverse its decision to terminate funding for the Statistics Canada Rural Research Group. The Research Group provides critical statistics and analysis on agricultural and rural matters and that their work provides an important input to rural sustainability. Council has endorsed the resolution provided by Halton Hills. The Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing's draft decision dated March 12, 2010 on Regional Official Plan Amendment No. 128, proposes certain modifications to the Region adopted policies and schedules which includes the removal of the proposed Courtice urban boundary expansion to add lands between Courtice Road and the future 407 east link for Employment Lands purposes. Council has responded to the draft decision with a resolution requesting the lands be included as Employment Lands. AACC June 10, 2010 REPORTS FROM OTHER COMMITTEES DAAC DAAC tour, September 17 in Clarington: Ted Watson informed the Committee that the tour will start at the Baseline Community Centre and the tour will include visits to Algoma Orchards and Barrie's and Watsons' farms. Durham Federation of Agriculture No report. Clarington Board of Trade Donald mentioned that he expressed concern to the Clarington Board of Trade regarding the imposition of many rules on farmers e.g. Clean Water Act, Pesticide Act, MDS, Planning regulations, and he re-iterated that agriculture is a business and a key part of the local economy. He requested the Board of Trade to further discuss and investigate ways in which they can support the agricultural community. OTHER BUSINESS Faye reported that the EA for the 407 extension and the 2 links have been approved. The conditions of approval allow the extension to be phased. The 1St phase it appears by the request for qualifications is only up to Simcoe Street. Approval of the EA will allow for expropriation if there is no willing seller. Gary mentioned that a solar farm proposed in Lanark County is on a 50 acre parcel of land, and pointed out that it cannot be on Class 1, 2, or 3 soils. On April 8t", 2010 the Ontario Power Authority issued three FIT (Feed-in Tariff) contracts in Clarington: a solar farm — Hybridyne (Brownsville) and 2 wind farms: Leader Energy and Zep Wind Farms (the geographic location of the two wind farm contract areas, which is. subject to a list of specialized studies, is shown on the map attached to the minutes). The actual sites where the wind turbines are proposed are not known yet. A technical working group led by the Chief Medical Officer of Health (CMOH) has released a synopsis of existing scientific evidence on the potential health impact of noise generated by wind turbines. The review concludes that while some people living near wind turbines report symptoms such as dizziness, headaches, and sleep disturbance, the scientific evidence available to date does not demonstrate a direct causal link between wind turbine noise and adverse health effects. The Green Energy Act requires public consultation only at the end of the approval process and with the relevant municipality, municipal approval of the project is not required. As such, the Municipality has little input other than as an information provider. An Executive Summary Profile of Agricultural Attributes in the GTA, dated March 2010 and prepared by Planscape Inc. (distributed at the meeting). Moved to Adjourn: Donald Rickard Next Meeting: August 26, 2010 7:30 p.m. AACC June 10, 2010