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Home My WebLink About2021-08-06Agricultural Advisory Committee of Clarington Meeting Thursday, August 26, 2021 Members Present: Eric Bowman Don Rickard Henry Zekveld Brenda Metcalf Jordan McKay John Cartwright Councillor Zwart Regrets: Ben Eastman, Tom Barrie, Jenni Knox, Ryan Cullen, Richard Rekker Staff: Amy Burke, Faye Langmaid, Cooper Howieson - Planning & Development Services Guests: None Observers: Mayor Foster, Allison Brown, Planning & Economic Development, Region of Durham Due to COVID 19 restrictions and to ensure social distancing, participation in the meeting was electronic (using Microsoft Teams) and by conference call. Eric welcomed all to the meeting, with introductions of Committee members. Declarations of Interest None Adoption of Agenda 021-018 Moved by Don Rickard, seconded by Brenda Metcalf That the Agenda for August 26, 2021 be adopted. Carried Approval of Minutes 021-019 Moved by John Cartwright, seconded by Councillor Zwart That the minutes of the July 8, 2021 meeting be approved. Carried Agricultural Advisory Committee of Clarington August 26, 2021 Presentation None Delegations None Business Arising from Minutes Recreational Vehicle and Trailer Storage Study: Resolution #PD-207-21 directed that the topic of On -Farm Diversified Uses and guidelines for such uses be referred to the AACC for input. The materials previously reviewed by the Committee when providing input on On -farm Diversified Uses in 2017 for the comprehensive zoning by- law project were recirculated to Committee prior to the meeting. An initial discussion occurred, as reported under New Business. Celebrate Agriculture Awards — 2021 Nominations: The Durham Farm Connections Celebrate Agricultural Awards — 2021 nomination form is now available. Nominations must be submitted to info durhamfarmconnections.ca by September 30, 2021. Correspondence, Council Items and Referrals Clarington Customer Service Review: The Municipality is looking at customer service across the entire organization to see what we are doing right and identify any areas where we can make improvements to streamline the way we interact with our residents. The goal of this exercise is to gain a better understanding of the customer journey and ensure that Staff and resources are best positioned to effectively deliver top-notch services. Over the summer, Committee members were invited to participate in a survey and focus group. A report on the outcomes and recommendations will be brought to Council early fall. Update — Comprehensive Zoning By-law Review Project (Zone Clarington): As an Interested Party for this project, the Committee was sent a project update circulated on August 4, 2021. The update informed the Committee that the next scheduled report to Council on Zone Clarington, which will include a revised new draft zoning by-law for the rural area, will occur late fall. It also advised that an Official Plan and Zoning By-law amendments to update policy and provisions relating to additional dwelling units are advancing separate from the Zone Clarington project. A Statutory Public meeting on the proposed amendments to increase permissions for additional dwelling units will be held at the Joint Committee of Council meeting on September 13, 2021 at 9:30am. For additional information, including how to speak at the public meeting, visit the Additional Dwelling Units webpage. Regional Agricultural Action Plan: An invitation was received for the Committee Chair / a member of the Committee to provide early feedback on a preliminary draft of the Region's new revised Agricultural Action Plan (formerly known as the Agricultural Strategy). Any interested Committee Members should contact Allison Brown (al Iison.brown (a--)durham.ca) or Stacey Jibb (stacey.jibb(q-)_durham.ca) immediately. The Agricultural Advisory Committee of Clarington August 26, 2021 draft Regional Agricultural Action Plan will be broadly circulated for public comment this fall and will include a future presentation to this Committee. Food System Report Card Roundtable: An invitation to participate in a roundtable to discuss the development of a Food System Report Card for Durham Region was extended to the Committee. The Roundtable is being organized by the Durham Food Policy Council and is scheduled for September 22, 9:00 — 11:00am. Staff were requested to gather more information on the Durham Food Policy Council for circulation to the Committee. Liaison Reports Durham Agriculture Advisory Committee: No update. Next meeting is Sept. 14, 2021. Durham Region Federation of Agriculture: No update. Durham Farm Connections: The Barn Quilt Trail, a self -guided tourism initiative that will cross Durham Region, will proceed. Facebook Live farm tours continue. The 2021 virtual Celebrate Agricultural Gala will be held October 28. The Gala will include an online silent auction, running from October 25 to November 1, and pre -ordered appetizers and beverages prepared locally. Contact DFC (info durhamfarmconnections.ca) to sponsor or donate to the virtual auction. Clarington Board of Trade: No update. New Business On -Farm Diversified Uses — Policy, Regulation and Guidance: An overview of the Committee's past involvement in providing input and feedback on matters relating to on - farm diversified uses (OFDU), current provincial, regional and local policy direction for OFDUs, and the proposed approach for the regulation of OFDU in the first draft zoning by-law released in November 2018 was provided. Staff informed the Committee that the next draft of a new zoning by-law for Clarington (rural area only) will refine the OFDU-related regulations and definitions proposed in the first draft zoning by-law released in November 2018. These refinements are based on consideration of Committee and public comments in response to the first draft zoning by-law and Council's separate consideration of the regulation of on -farm event venues. Staff explained that since the release of the first draft zoning by-law, other municipalities have released their own zoning approaches, with varying approaches to permitting OFDU as of right (i.e. without requiring a zoning by-law amendment). One example provided was Brant County. Staff also explained that the province has recently been clearer on their position that an OFDU can include uses that are non-agricultural, provided they meet the criteria set out for OFDU. Clarington's Official Plan (OP) permits OFDUs and builds further upon the guidance provided by the province. However, the Clarington Official Plan must be consistent with the Regional OP, which currently only contemplates OFDUs where they Agricultural Advisory Committee of Clarington August 26, 2021 are directly related or devoted to the farm operation. As such, OFDUs which are not intrinsically tied to agriculture are not currently contemplated. The recent proposed policy directions released by the Region of Durham acknowledge that Regional OP policy changes are warranted to broaden goals and policies that discourage non- agricultural uses in prime agricultural areas. The Committee discussed the principal of OFDUs being secondary to the primary agricultural use of the property and how "secondary" is defined. Provincial guidance relates the definition of "secondary" primarily to the OFDU being limited in area. The Committee considered comments that have been heard that a financial comparison of revenue from agriculture versus OFDU activities should be considered. Concerns with this approach include the unavailability of accurate financial records for a business that has not yet gotten off the ground, a perception of being unfairly punished for achieving success in another area of business, and the approach being a barrier to getting people out to farms and increasing awareness, understanding and appreciation of agriculture. Staff are seeking feedback from the Committee relating to OFDU relating to the potential opportunities and concerns from the agricultural sector's perspective on a broader approach to permitting OFDU than was proposed in the first draft zoning by- law; ii) considerations for permitting non-agricultural uses as OFDUs; and iii) guidance / tools to support farms planning for OFDUs. The Committee will strike a sub -committee to resume more in-depth discussions about OFDU policy, regulation, and guidance. Staff will work with the Committee Chair to finalize sub -committee participants and schedule an initial meeting(s) this fall. A resource package summarizing other, more recent, municipal approaches to regulating OFDU will be prepared by Staff and circulated to the sub -committee to inform the initial discussions. The Committee will extend an invitation to Clarington's MPPs (or their staff representatives) to participate in the sub -committee meetings. Next Meeting Thursday, October 14, 2021 @ 7:30 pm (Virtual Meeting) Agricultural Advisory Committee of Clarington August 26, 2021