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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2025-01-19Agricultural Advisory Committee of Clarington Meeting Minutes Date: Thursday, January 9, 2025 Time: 7:30 p.m. Location: Microsoft Teams or Meeting Room 1 C, Municipal Administrative Centre 40 Temperance St., Bowmanville, Ontario Members Present: Henry Zekveld (Chair), Tom Barrie, Richard Rekker, John Cartwright, Mitch Morawetz (DRFA), Councillor Zwart, Eric Bowman, Jennifer Knox, Lloyd Vandergaast, Brad Found Regrets: Craig Rickard, Chris Ennis Staff Present: Lisa Backus, Jane Wang, Sarah Parish, Sylvia Jennings, Darryl Lyons — Planning and Infrastructure Services; David Speed, Matt Muirhead — Clarington Emergency and Fire Services Guests: Allison De Vos — Invest Durham, Charles Stevens, Ian Parker, Ben Kobes 1. Welcome and Introductions L. Backus welcomed everyone to the meeting. Committee members, staff and attendees made self -introductions. 2. Land Acknowledgement Statement L. Backus recited the Land Acknowledgement Statement. 3. Declarations of Interest None 4. Election of Chair/Vice Chair S. Jennings reviewed the nomination and election process and opened the floor for nomination for the position of Committee Chair. Eric Bowman was nominated for Chair and declined the nomination. Henry Zekveld was nominated for Chair and accepted the nomination. As the only nominee, Henry Zekveld was appointed Chair. Henry Zekveld took over as Chair and opened the floor for nomination for the position of Committee Vice Chair. Tom Barrie was nominated for Vice Chair and accepted the nomination. As the only nominee, Tom Barrie was appointed Vice Chair. Agricultural Advisory Committee of Clarington January 9, 2024 5. Presentations I Delegations 5a. Introduction of Deputy CAO, Planning and Infrastructure Services, Darryl Lyons; Director of Emergency and Fire Services and Fire Chief, David Speed; and Fire Prevention Officer, Matt Muirhead Darryl Lyons, Deputy CAO, Planning and Infrastructure Services described his background including working with the Province and City of Markham. He has an extensive policy background and noted that a collaborative approach is needed to find solutions to the many policy changes at the provincial and federal level. He emphasized that he has an open-door policy and encouraged Committee members to reach out. 025-002 Moved by Tom Barrie, Seconded by Brad Found That Charles Stevens and Ian Parker be added as delegations as 5c in the Agenda Carried David Speed, Director of Emergency and Fire Services, briefly introduced himself and answered questions from the Committee. The Enniskillen fire station is staying open for the foreseeable future, despite difficulties recruiting volunteer firefighters. There are plans for a joint fire station, public operations facility, and fire training facility at Liberty and Concession 4. The need for further new fire stations would be a decision of the next term of Council. Any information farmers have that would be relevant to fire services, such as locations of pesticide storage on farms, can be shared with the fire prevention team at any time. Fire and Emergency Services has moved their office to the Shaw House at 156 Church Street, Bowmanville across the street from the Municipal Administrative Centre. Matt Muirhead, Fire Prevention Officer, attended the meeting to answer questions related to fire prevention at migrant worker housing. At a previous meeting between Fire Services and local farmers there were questions about specific terms in the fire code, and how they can vary with definitions in the zoning. Migrant worker housing units that have been issued fire orders can't be occupied until all items on the inspection orders are completed. Safety of the occupants is the first priority. He clarified that the Municipality of Clarington does not set out the regulations, they're provincially mandated by the Ontario Fire Marshall. The Municipality's role is to enforce them. M. Muirhead will send out emails to all owners who have been issued fire orders to explain the next steps. A Committee member suggested that the Committee could consider partnering with the Durham Region Federation of Agriculture to request that the Ontario Federation of Agriculture work with the Ontario Fire Marshall's office to seek changes to the fire code that would ease the requirements for renovations. 5b. Presentation on Farm Workers Housing Agricultural Advisory Committee of Clarington January 9, 2024 Sarah Parish, Principal Planner at the Municipality of Clarington, presented to the Committee on planning permissions for farm workers housing. She reviewed the recent history of the issue and is attending this meeting to begin consultation with the Committee about potential changes to the Official Plan and Zoning By-laws to expand permissions for farm worker housing. She explained that local planning permissions must conform to higher order policy including the Provincial Planning Statement, Greenbelt Plan, Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan, and the Durham Region Official Plan. S. Parish described approaches other municipalities have taken to expand options for migrant worker housing including adding definitions to the zoning by-law, allowing multiple farm worker dwelling types on farm properties and defining maximum lot coverage for farm worker dwellings. The Municipality is potentially releasing amendments to the Zoning By-law and Official Plan to the public in late January. Regardless of changes to the planning permissions, units will need to comply with fire, health and building codes. Committee members asked how they could provide comments on this issue. A motion was carried after Agenda Item 5c to form a subcommittee on the topic. 5c. Delegations from Charles Stevens and Ian Parker on Migrant Worker Housing Ian Parker spoke about his experience dealing with the issue. He chaired a meeting on the topic held at Wilmot Orchards. His main concerns are surrounding the definitions in the fire code. There hasn't been a resolution yet but noted that continued meetings were recommended. Charles Stevens spoke about his personal experience of employing migrant workers to meet the need for labour. He noted that the migrant worker program is federally regulated, but the fire and building codes are provincially regulated. In speaking with contacts in other provinces, he believes only Ontario has tougher rules regarding fire prevention. He noted that his main concern are the provincial regulations for fire and building, and that planning concerns are easier to tackle. He noted local farmers who have spent large amounts of money to come into compliance with fire orders. He suggested more efforts should be put towards fire prevention education of migrant workers. He questioned why these regulations are being enforced now. He noted the burden this placed on the agricultural issue. He is in touch with provincial ministers but also believes this Committee can play a role. The Committee discussed how other organizations are addressing this issue. The Greenbelt Foundation and federal government are working to develop better guidelines for temporary foreign workers across Canada, particularly addressing health codes. The Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers' Association is leading the charge on this. A committee member suggested that the OFA should be playing a bigger role. The Committee discussed how they could best address this issue. They noted that the main priority is to not impede the arrival of migrant workers for the upcoming growing season. They noted that the purpose of this committee is to advise Council, Agricultural Advisory Committee of Clarington January 9, 2024 and that there is limited capacity to affect provincial issues at the municipal level. They noted that they have the most ability to influence the Official Plan or Zoning By-law, but these issues are secondary to the building and fire codes issues. They noted that province should differentiate fire code requirements between urban versus rural boarding houses. They suggested that more clearcut definitions are needed. 025-002 Moved by Jennifer Knox, Seconded by Tom Barrie That the AACC strike a subcommittee to review and provide comments to the draft zoning by-law and official plan amendments that will be presented at the February 10, 2025 Planning and Development Committee; and That the subcommittee also consider the views represented by the delegates on this issue. Carried 6. Approval of Minutes of December 12, 2024 025-003 Moved by Eric Bowman, Seconded by Richard Rekker That the Minutes of the December 12, 2024 meeting be approved. Carried 7. Business Arising from the Minutes 7a. Committee Appointments S. Jennings confirmed that the Chris Ennis, Lloyd Vandergaast, Brad Found and Henry Zekveld were appointed to the Committee for the 2025-2028 term. Henry Zekveld welcomed the new members. 7b. Annual Council Updates S. Jennings asked the Committee for specific issues they'd like mentioned in the annual council update regarding Committee activities for the last year. Suggestions include migrant housing, and traffic infrastructure conflicts with farm equipment. Staff will bring a draft report to the next meeting. Committee members also suggested potentially organizing a farm tour for members of Council. The idea will be considered further when the new work plan is developed. 7. Correspondence, Council Items and Referrals 7a. 2025 Meeting Calendar The list of Committee meetings for 2025 was shared. J. Wang advised that a new chair and vice -chair would be elected at the first meeting in 2025. 7b. OFA Issue Spotlight: Railways Agricultural Advisory Committee of Clarington January 9, 2024 T. Barrie spoke about the issue. Rail companies are changing their policy such that neighbouring property owners may be financially responsible for maintenance, drainage, or safety upgrades at railway crossings. Some adjacent farmers have already been charged annually for railway expenses. Various conflicts between farmers and railways were discussed. 8. Liaison Reports 8a. Durham Agricultural Advisory Committee — T. Barrie T. Barrie reported that the January meeting hasn't taken place yet. In response to a Committee member's question, he noted that DAAC will continue despite regional planning responsibilities being downloaded to the lower tier municipalities. 8b. Durham Region Federation of Agriculture M. Morawetz provided the update. A meeting was held on December 18 where they provided a recap of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture Annual General Meeting and planned for the early part of the new year. The board is looking for new members. 8c. Durham Agricultural Economic Development Update — A. De Vos A. De Vos provided the update. The agriculture leadership program is upcoming. It's a four part training session focusing on different aspects of agricultural leadership, delivered in partnership with Durham Farm Connections and the DRFA. The January 28 session will cover global topics in agriculture. A session on February 25 will focus on finding fairness in farm succession planning. Invest Durham is also leading a project to update the official plan agricultural policies in Scugog, Uxbridge, and Brock. The DRFA will be holding an event related to the project. 9. New Business 9a. Stormwater Management Fees Report FSD-002-25 is going to the January 13, 2025 General Government Committee regarding alternative revenue sources and recommends implementing a stormwater management fee. Councillor Zwart suggested that the consultant hired to develop the new fee should consult with this Committee. A Committee member suggested that the Terms of Reference for the consultant's work should include consultation with this Committee. The Committee reaffirmed motion 024-009 passed at the June 13, 2024 Committee meeting. 10. Date of Next Meeting February 13, 2025 11. Adjournment 025-004 Moved by John Cartwright, Seconded by Eric That the meeting adjourn at 10:10 p.m. Carried Agricultural Advisory Committee of Clarington January 9, 2024