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Home My WebLink About2026-06-11* Subject to Advisory Committee approval * Agricultural Advisory Committee of Clarington June 11, 2026 Agricultural Advisory Committee of Clarington Meeting Minutes Date: Thursday, June 11, 2026 Time: 7:30 p.m. Location: Microsoft Teams or Meeting Room 1C, Municipal Administrative Centre 40 Temperance St., Bowmanville, Ontario Members Present: Henry Zekveld (Chair), Councillor Margaret Zwart, Tom Barrie, Eric Bowman, John Cartwright, Brad Found, Lloyd Vandergaast, Mitch Morawetz (DRFA), Jennifer Knox, John Cartwright, Richard Rekker Regrets: Craig Rickard Staff Present: Lisa Backus, Sylvia Jennings, David Perkins, Darryl Lyons, Thom Hunt – Planning and Infrastructure Services Guests: Stefan Lemon – Region of Durham Agricultural Development Specialist 1. Welcome and Introductions H. Zekveld welcomed everyone to the meeting and attendees introduced themselves. 2. Land Acknowledgement Statement H. Zekveld recited the Land Acknowledgement Statement. 3. Declarations of Interest None. 4. Approval of Minutes of April 9, 2026 026-011 Moved by T. Barrie, seconded by B. Found That the Minutes of the April 9, 2026, meeting be approved. Carried 5. Presentations / Delegations 5a. Clarington Planning & Infrastructure Services – Darryl Lyons Darryl Lyons, Deputy CAO, Planning & Infrastructure Services, provided an overview of the organization of the Planning and Infrastructure Department, including the managers who head each division within the department, and the responsibilities of each division. D. Lyons noted that the department has hired several key staff with specialized expertise to fill in gaps in service. D. Lyons provided a summary of development activity, noting that although building permits in general are relatively low, permits Agricultural Advisory Committee of Clarington June 11, 2026 for additional dwelling units (ADUs) are high and development applications continue to be received. He noted that the Building division is working on new ways to share information with the public and to improve the building permit application process. D. Lyons outlined various initiatives that the Planning and Infrastructure department is undertaking and connected them to an agricultural perspective. This included: • the Official Plan Review (OPR) and the progress of secondary plans; • a complete digital transformation of the department’s processes, as well as continuous improvement and innovation; • implementing the Parks, Recreation and Culture Master Plan and Strategic Plan; • affordable housing initiatives; • making key changes to departmental processes to improve productivity, including building permit and inspection processes. Committee members asked questions: • H. Zekveld asked if developers or Council decides what can be built. D. Lyons explained that Council makes decisions on development applications, but developers can appeal those decisions. • T. Barrie asked if recreational facilities like baseball diamonds can be built on lands designated Environmental Protection. D. Lyons noted that only passive uses are permitted in Environmental Protection Areas. • L. Vandergaast asked if the provincial government changes legislation, will a municipal plan need to change also, or can it be general enough to not be affected. D. Lyons explained that the Official Plan needs to be updated to conform to the provincial legislation. • T. Barrie asked why developers aren’t building small, affordable houses. D. Lyons noted that developers prioritize building houses that they believe are the likeliest to sell, but that smaller townhouses and built-in ADUs are becoming more common. • E. Bowman asked if the digital transformation will help identify parcels of land subject to a fire permit. D. Lyons stated that it should if the information is correct, and if it doesn’t, Clarington staff will be available to assist. • B. Found asked how the policies in an Official Plan are affected by the PPS. D. Lyons stated that development approvals must be consistent with the new PPS, regardless of Official Plan policies. H. Zekveld thanked D. Lyons and T. Hunt for the presentation and for responding to their questions. 6. Business Arising from the Minutes 6a. Farm Tour Planning T. Barrie confirmed the agenda for the Farm Tour. B. Found confirmed that he will pick up food. The members and staff jointly noted that Ian Parker could talk about a Agricultural Advisory Committee of Clarington June 11, 2026 “day in the life,” challenges to farming, pest management, succession planning, farm education, and his personal background. 7. Communications 7a. Province Introducing Legislation to Protect and Strengthen Ontario’s Agri- Food Sector There is new provincial legislation released regarding agriculture. 7b. Workshop Invitation - Growing Your Farm: Exploring On-Farm Diversified Uses Committee members are encouraged to attend this workshop on June 23. 7c. Draft Community Improvement Plan and implementing Official Plan Amendment Released S. Jennings summarized the agricultural programs in the CIP. The CIP program is currently out for consultation, and there will be a Public Meeting for the project on June15th. 7d. Clarington Growth Management Study – Public Information Centre S. Jennings advised that there is a virtual PIC for this study on June 18th. L. Backus noted that there will be more opportunities to provide feedback regarding the OP review in the future. 7e. Recent Urban Boundary Expansion Requests S. Jennings noted that Clarington has received several urban boundary expansion requests. More information regarding each request is available by clicking on the links below: • 933 Mearns Ave, Bowmanville • Northeast Bowmanville • 3574 Concession Road 3 and 3171 Highway 115, Newcastle 7f. Growing Opportunity: Action Plan to Unleash Urban Agriculture S. Jennings noted that the Golden Horseshoe Food & Farming Alliance and Durham College put together an action plan to regarding expanding urban agriculture. 7g. Thank you note from PDC JP Newman thanked H. Zekveld on behalf of Clarington Council for his presentation to PDC on May 11, 2026. 8. Liaison Reports 8a. Durham Agricultural Advisory Committee – T. Barrie Succession planning, on-farm diversified uses, and a food processing workshop were among the topics discussed at the DAAC meeting. Agricultural Advisory Committee of Clarington June 11, 2026 8b. Durham Region Federation of Agriculture (DRFA) – M. Morawetz DRFA is hosting a workshop on On-farm Diversified Uses in conjunction with Invest Durham. (OFDU) Day coming soon. M. Morawetz encouraged Committee members to attend. Pickering approved the secondary plan associated with the northeast Pickering lands. J. Knox noted that a consultant hired by the City of Pickering reinforced the idea in a report to Transport Canada that the NE Pickering lands are not of high agricultural value. 8c. Durham Agricultural Economic Development Update – S. Lemon S. Lemon noted that Business Advisory Durham will present at OFDU Day. A tentative date of September 21, 2026 was set for the Durham College Student Farm Tour. Invest Durham is evaluating the value proposition of food processing businesses. 9. New Business 9a. Clarington Climate Adaptation Plan Workshop H. Zekveld noted that he attended Clarington’s Climate Adaptation Plan Workshop on May 12, 2026, and that there is another workshop on June 15, 2026. 10. Adjournment 026-012 Moved by J. Cartwright, Seconded by E. Bowman That the meeting adjourn at 9:36 p.m. Carried Next Meeting: August 13, 2026