Zoning – do your due diligence

In this past year as a first time Councillor, I found myself wanting with respect to zoning and planning. When I first took office there was so much to learn (and still is) … what to do first? If I had it to do over again I would have spent way more time getting clear on zoning and severance issues.

My apologies to those who know all this stuff already but I thought some of you may benefit from what follows. I put it together from a few sources.

“A zoning by-law controls the use of land in your community. It states exactly:
how land may be used
where buildings and other structures can be located
the types of buildings that are permitted and how they may be used
the lot sizes and dimensions, parking requirements, building heights and setbacks from the street.” (source, Ontario Municipal Affairs and Housing website)

The value of a piece of property can be affected significantly by its zoning so when you are considering buying something make sure you are very clear on the zoning. Each “Zone” also has details of what is allowed. For instance it is not good enough just to know that something is zoned Commercial. You need to know what is considered under Commercial. In Trent Hills Zoning By Law 2010-105 there are tables detailing the zoning and the permitted uses within those zones. (www.trenthills.ca/en/services/zoning_bylaws.asp).

A single piece of property can have more than one zone on it. Mine for example has Rural Residential and Environmental Control (EC). This means that the Lower Trent Conservation Authority has control over what may be done within the EC zone on my property. This isn’t a hardship since the zone is down by the creek at the back of the property but it is important to realize that if I ever thought it would be great to have a business back in there with cabins along the creek for example it would be virtually impossible to get approval.

Property buyers please ask all the questions relating to any future plans you may have for your future property …before you buy.

When I started this Blog I thought I would be writing every week .. not so. I seem to be lucky to have alignment of inspiration, research, creative flow and time about once every 2 months!

An ATV Throughway in Trent Hills?

First let me declare that I am against allowing our roads to be used as ATV trails.

Last night there was a special Council and Public Information Meeting at which the Northumberland ATV Club repeated their pitch for the benefit of a wider public and Council.
It was clear to me that the ATV representatives at the meeting were a respectful group who enjoy the many benefits they believe comes from ATVing and I imagine they are everything they say they are with respect to their own safe operation of these vehicles and the development of ATVing as a regular past time of many Ontarians. It is hard not to be somewhat sympathetic to their goal of connecting trails across our Province.

Through a Municipal Committee made up of four members, one being Mike Ainsworth of the Northumberland ATV Club, over the past few years a proposed route has been developed to get ATVs through TrentHills. Residents who live along the proposed ATV “throughway” (my words) which would provide access from Craeme to trails north and east of Trent Hills, spoke eloquently about why they were opposed to the Northumberland ATV Clubs request of Council and the people of Trent Hills.

The first main objection was. “If they are safe for my road why are they not safe for all roads”. Safety of the vehicle was brought up by several folks and it seems straight forward when the manufacturers of the vehicle have warnings that their vehicle is “not for on road use”.

A new resident who was clearly distressed pointed out that that their family had chosen Trent Hills for its peace and tranquility only to now discover that this proposal will bring ATVs right by their door. Other folks pointed to Trent Hills tag line “ Come for a Visit , Stay for the Lifestyle. The lifestyle portrayed in our ads and websites is one of peace and pastoral country sides, beautiful hills and rivers.

The town of Norham being more like a little urban centre built around a quaint winding roadway has many houses close to each other and with frontages that are within a few feet of the road (the planned route). Norham residents have expressed grave concerns for their children grand children, pets and themselves. Others pointed out to the noise that would reverberate around the little hamlet.

The ATV group showed a video made by the Eastern Ontario Trails Association. It portrayed a wonderful picture of ATVs, walkers, runners, cyclists and horses all sharing the same narrow trail. All were smiling and happy with upbeat music in the background and not a sound of the engines. This all may well be possible on trails designed for such recreation.

A compelling concern for me is Municipal Liability which I translate into taxpayer liability. I am worried that if we allow these vehicles to use our roads as trails and if an accident happens where we could be cited for not maintaining the road shoulder properly or allowing a road to be used where the visibility is impaired for such small vehicles, besides the damage to life and limb, we may be into a big lawsuit. It is not good enough to argue.. “that’s what we have liability insurance for”. It costs us all. ATV’s are for trails not roads so allowing them on roads for recreation is irresponsible in my view.

Alnwick/Haldiman passed a by-law permitting ATVs in 2008. I want to quote a recent letter to the editor from Tova White from Grafton who pleads .”Trent Hills Council, do not make the same mistake that ours did” .

“Life in our peaceful community has changed significantly. As I write this on a gorgeous Thanksgiving weekend, all I can hear is the roar of ATVs racing along an unmaintained road allowance that runs the length of our property …….”

“…..my children can no longer walk safely on their favourite trail through the woods, our sheep and horses regularly injure themselves when they are spooked by the loud mufflers, we are not able to ride our horses in our ring for fear of being thrown off and our once pristine road allowance is now littered with discarded jerry cans and beer bottles.

A mistake made by residents everywhere is not calling authorities to complain. Many believe “they won’t do anything anyway” or “no point in calling the OPP, by the time they get here the perpetrators will be gone” Believe me if your councillors and the authorities start getting hundreds of calls, something will be done. By not complaining we allow our councils to say “we haven’t had any complaints”.

The public in Trent Hills has until Oct 31, 2011 to comment on the proposed by- law. Weather you are for it or against it please take the time to voice your opinion. The bylaw can be found on the Trent hills website www.trenthills.ca . Please forward your written comments either by email to info@trenthills.ca. Att:ATV Comments. ( You can cc me if you wish kim.macneil@trenthills.ca) or by mail to The Municipality of Trent Hills, 66 Front Street South PO Box 1030, Campbellford on. K0L 1 L0. Attn: ATV comments.

Something to check re ground mounted solar panels.

Those of you who have read my blog know that I would like to see more controls on the under 10kw ground mounted solar panel units in urban centers and settlement areas. In fact I would prefer that only roof mounted units be allowed in such places.

Another issue is looming that folks need to think about.

Say you put up a ground mounted unit, sign your 20 year contract and then in a few years your neighbour decides to renovate or in the case of an empty lot build a large home or business that will block your access to the sun. What happens then? Neighbour fighting neighbour? Legal bills, bad blood, community division…..?

I haven’t investigated yet to see what the remedy may be but I will post an update once I have.

So whether you are the one entering into a contract or a next door neighbour you may want to find out how to cover off this risk.

Ground Mounted Solar Panels

Again I find my time somewhat taken up and blogging has not been my priority.  I did prepare an article for my publication Warkworth Words and it fits for my blog too.  I do plan more communication and I will work to making it at least monthly.

Council Corner ….
The resolution I brought forward that requests that the Ontario Government address a gap in the Green Energy Act which has permitted the installation of 10kw ground mounted solar units in urban and settlement areas was passed by Council at its June 7 meeting. The resolution has brought both concerns and approval in our community.

On the concerns … we have too many levels of government and permitting the local government to have a say adds another layer of bureaucracy. The feeling that “it is my property” and the government should have no say in what I do with it is very strong in some folks.

It is important that folks know that the units that are on the properties on Old Hastings road were put there after consultation with neighbours.

There is pride in knowing that a person is contributing to the production of clean energy. Additionally the solar units provide income both through the program and to those who build and install them. That income is put back into communities through spending.

I also heard opinions expressed that these solar and windmill installations are beautiful to look at.

On the approval side for the resolution to control them, folks agree with the concerns over what towns and villages will look like over time as these units proliferate. While I have heard expressions of dismay at even the ones on farm properties destroying the landscapes folks are quick to say they understand and support the farmers who want to be in the energy business.

An opinion I have heard several times expresses anger that the substantial costs related to these programs are spread over all of us and we have no say in it. There appears to be little confidence that this will be better for us in the long run.

Other concerns relate to safety. The units appear fairly easy to climb or to get up to mischief with. In our communities we require pools to be fenced to protect our children. Should there not be a similar requirement for these installations?

What do we do with these units when they become outdated or not used any longer. Will communities be littered with them … remember all the satellite dishes? I am told we don’t have to worry as these electricity generating systems are recyclable.

One persons comment …”they’re ugly”..

At the same council meeting we received a copy of a resolution from a northern town called Thessalon. They are trying to prevent the ground mounted units from being placed in front yards.

There are, I understand, communities all over Ontario having similar problems. These issues are not easy. Every community has those opposed and those in support. The ideas of personal freedoms over the collective come to the forefront. We need to find a balance that we can all live with if we are to live in communities

Trent Hills regular Council meeting tomorrow; Spring Roads & a bit on the budget.

I had hoped to write more often but lately my creative time has been a bit limited.  Tomorrow is Council and Committee of Adjustment so there is still much I have to read on the agenda.  The Composting By-Law comes up on this agenda as well as the final presentation to Council on the Cultural Plan (Public meetings have already taken place for both topics).  It looks like the topic of Renewable Energy Projects may also get some air time.  The meeting is in Hastings  Civic Centre with a closed session first at 6pm (a personal matter about an identifiable individual and a pending acquisition or disposition of land) and then the regular session following Committee of adjustment at 7pm. www.trenthills.ca has the agenda.

Today I finished my publication Warkworth Words which I do every second month and I am going to reproduce here my “Council Corner” column.

Council Corner

“The roads crew has certainly been busy this spring.  My car could disappear in some of those pot holes that pop up overnight on certain back roads I love to drive.  I have been told by a some of our residents how pleased they are with progress on their roads through the winter and the very wet part of the Spring.

Richard Bolduc, Neil Allanson and Judy Campbell encourage calls if you have road issues.  Safety is a very large part of their concerns.  When you call them it is “not a bother”.  They can let you know when things are going to be done and they can deal with critical issues right away.  Judy’s number at the Municipality is 705-653-1900 Ext 228. After hours if there is an emergency call the answering service at 705 653-2610 and they will page whoever is on call.

Did you know that Trent Hills has 548kms of roads  and approximately 80kms of sidewalks for which we are responsible! There are 14 big trucks (ploughes/sanders) covering 21 routes.  Understandably the associated costs are a significant part of the municipal budget.

The final budget should come forward to Council at the April 19th Council Meeting. We are still awaiting confirmation of numbers from the County and Education for their portions.  Also we await the final figure for the Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund which represents 2.9 million of our 15.6 million in revenues.

I found the budget discussions very enlightening.  One thing that surprised me though was the small numbers of the public that appeared at the Public Meeting.  I think there were about 9 folks plus the press.  Those that did show up posed some good questions and enabled a good discussion. The budget presentation is on the Trent Hills Website www.trenthills.ca. You will see there is a decrease in the tax rate that is applied to your assessment but in many cases the assessments have gone up in line with MPACs phase in of the increases they announced in 2008.  The press have done pretty good coverage over how that translates into dollars from our pockets. The budget presentation (towards the back)  contains a schedule of some sample properties and the increases one might expect

One of the major challenges is when expenses outside of our direct control go up.  It means we either have to cut services or planned projects in order to keep the budget reasonable. We had a couple we had to incorporate like the increase in policing and Library (pay equity) costs.

Over time we will need to have built some reserve to deal with aging recreational facilities so previous Council began a program of putting away some reserves. The current budget continues to support that and there is an allocation of an additional $75,000.  That means this year $150,00 will go into reserve.  In time this reserve will provide us with some leverage if and when funding becomes available.”

 

 

Trent Hills Zoning By-law Amendment;Composting Policies

At tonights Public Meeting before the Council meeting the Composting Zoning by-law was on the agenda. There were a good number of interested parties in attendance. At the Public meeting a document from a constituent containing further questions was given to Council members.

For my part there was not time to digest this input from the Public Meeting before the By-law came up for the vote in the Council session.

My question to the Planner was had we answered the questions we had received. He replied “most of them”.

Given there was more to answer and there was not time to read the new document I supported the motion made for the deferral of the passing of the by-law for 30 days. The motion passed.

The Interim control by-law was extended and still is in force.

I saw some dismayed faces in the audience. It would have been nice to get the by-law passed but there is a process in place for a reason. Any of us have the right at a Public Meeting to have our questions answered around the issue at hand. It is frustrating that questions come in at the very last minute but the by-law will come back to Council after the 30 day period.

I believe the By-law addresses well the issue of Composting in Trent Hills but I wouldn’t want to thwart the democratic process in getting it done.

Councillor learning curve steep but enjoyable!

I said I would continue posting but it has been awhile.  I must say it has been busy!  In the last month there have been 18 meetings.  There were orientation sessions, Councillor training on the Municipal Act,  a day long session on the conduct of meetings, committee meetings and of course the Council meetings.  It is a steep learning curve but very enjoyable and interesting.  I am on the Board of Lower Trent Conservation Authority and there is a lot to learn there too.

A few things are coming up that you may have been following or have an interest in.

On Feb 24th at 5pm at Hastings Civic Centre you will have a chance to see the progress being made on the Cultural Plan.  It hasn’t gone to Council yet but hopefully after this next meeting the final plan can be put to Council.  The Consultant (Novita Interpares) has worked with the Steering Committee and has had discussions with many people accross our Municipality.  From all I have seen as a Committee member , thay have done a great job so far.  From 5-6p, there will be an Open House.  The Steering Committee and the Consultants will be available if you wish to speak to them.  Some representatives from our community will  have tables set up with examples of Trent Hills cultural elements.  From 6-7 PM there will be a presentation and an opportunity for questions.

Work on the “Strategic Fire Master Plan” is well underway and input from the Community is being sought.  If you haven’t received an e-mail about a survey for this or seen the ads in the paper, please go ahead and visit http://www.surveymonkey.com/TrentHillsFirePlan.  ”We need your input”

I am on the Fire Committee and through only one meeting,  I learned about what our firefighters and Chiefs face and some of the differences between larger cities and our urban/ rural areas.  I was amazed how quickly our teams get to emergencies. Discussions around equipment and fire vehicles was very enlightening.  Our community is very supportive of our firefighters and most of us know someone whose life they have saved.  The number of calls have increased significantly and I trust the Plan will help to identify actions that we can take to ensure that as the community needs evolve the firefighters have the tools and training necessary to keep them safe and to protect and save our families and ourselves should misfortune befall us.

Feb 15th, 9am is the Next Council meeting the agenda isn’t as large as most I have seen.  Something I would like to mention about Council meetings.  During the course on Municipal meetings that I attended I found out that some Councils do not permit questions from the Public at Council Meetings with the exception of Delegations.  The Public are invited as Observers.  In fact the leader of our course was quite strong in his opinion that that is the way it should be.  I had been thinking that the public question period should be longer but it was explained to me that the purpose of Public Meetings was to permit more two way dialogue and that Council meetings were not the place for it.  However, Trent Hills Council Agenda allows for a short question period for the Public and the Press on items related to the agenda.

At the March 7 (a Monday not a Tuesday this time) Council meeting  there will be a Public Meeting ahead of the Council Meeting. It will be held at the Warkworth Legion.  The By-law that will cover the operations of composting facilities in Trent Hills will be on the agenda.  Details are on the website.

I want to publicaly thank my sister Jan for coming up to Warkworth from Nova Scotia in the most snow-filled ten days of winter to help me totally reorganize my office.  There was years of paper and files to go through … I have seven bankers boxes to be shredded!  I had been trying to figure out how I was going to keep my council business neatly separate from everything else and I was convinced I needed a new table and filing cabinets .  Well after 10 days locked up in this office except for a couple of dinners out and some meetings, it turns out I have more than enough space as it is. I also discovered that I not only have a “thing” for pens , I also have one for little notebooks.  They turned up everywhere with the first few pages written in and then nothing …  I always loved going back to school … new pencils , pens , crayons and books!! It was a terrific time to spend with my sister and boy what an organizer she is! It is so neat here…. I am loving working in this space tonight.

‘Till the next time. Stay warm, go easy on the shoveling and come on out to the Public Meetings.

A new day, a new month , a new year

This special marking on the calendar lends impetus to looking forward and planning all those things I will do differently, those things I will continue to do because they work  and  the new things I will do that have sprouted from my focus on serving the public in my new role as Councillor.

January promises to be quite busy.  There is “New Councillor Training” to complete,  I will chair my first Committee of Adjustments Meeting (probably not a big deal but still a marker for me), there will be our Council Meetings and I trust some of our committee formations will be complete and have a chance to meet.

I am on the following Committees/ Boards/Appointments/Working Groups.

Committees: Economic Development Advisory; Warkworth Revitalization Advisory ; Fire Advisory; Civic Awards

Boards: Library Board

Appointments: Lower Trent

Working Groups: Business Park; Cultural Planning; Communication

All Council is on: Property Standards Appeals; Dangerous Dogs Appeal and Committee of Adjustment.

I continue to have an interest in the Bridge Committee Meetings and I will attend them whenever my schedule allows.

I have become concerned about the proliferation of solar panels popping up willy nilly around the Community.  I don’t mind the ones that are on homes / barns buildings etc, nor do I mind the ones that are thoughtfully placed keeping neigbours and the beauty of the countryside in mind.

In many cases these installations are commercial ventures and indeed some could be called industrial.  It will be interesting to see how MPAC will assess these properties in future.

I don’t like the fact that these free standing structures can be put onto a piece of property zoned residential even though there are no residences or even buildings.  As it stands right now I believe we could all put them in our front yards if  there is enough space and sun.

I believe the Municipality should have a say on where they can be placed and what needs to be done to lessen the visual impact.  I will be asking the questions and following up on what avenues are available to us.   I have received several complaints now from residents and I believe we need to work with the Province to ensure that the Municipality has at a minimum the site plan control.

I look forward to the planning sessions that we will undoubtedly be having as we work towards updating the Official Plan.

I look forward to working with the Economic Development Committe to see what we can do over the longer term to identify and bring the kind of jobs to our area that will attract younger folks.

I want to understand our long term financial picture completely including the various risks that we face and how we mitigate them.

I will contribute positively to our residents customer service experience in the Municipality by responding quickly to their concerns myself and working with other Councillors and staff .

I have a lot to learn and I look forward to working with all the committees/boards etc to help advance our community’s agenda.

I really hope to hear from any of you who have an opinion,  an idea or a concern you want to discuss.  I have a new email for Council work ( kim.macneil@trenthills.ca). My other contact info is in this BLOG at the right.

This is going to be an enjoyable year indeed for me!

I wish all of you every success … however you define it.. for 2011.

My Council Work Begins in earnest.

To say things have been busy is an understatement.  The first thing a new Councillor must do is re-organize his/her life.  For me I need to adjust to some evening meetings or events.  I am an up- at- 5:30- 6 am person.  By 8pm these days I am usually comfortably ensconced in bed  or on the couch  catching up on the days recorded Coronation St. and sipping a nice cup of tea. The cat (s) is on my  lap and the dog asleep on the floor …. get a life you say?  I love my life.

The new Council was sworn in a week ago today and our first council meeting was the next evening.  Prep for the meeting was extensive.  It is one thing to read the agenda documents as an observer and quite another to go through them determining if you will support the motions to be put forward.  Some items are of course more complex than others and it is necessary to ask questions of Municipal staff in order to be comfortable that you know the issues and have an opinion.  For me I was fairly comfortable because I had been following some proposals/issues since last April but the devil is in the details they say and it is important to dig into those.

I am sure from a public perspective the whole planning thing appears confusing.  I know I had trouble understanding the process surrounding the “Official Plan” and how other Planning activities such as Economic Development fit into it.  What follows is what I have learned so far.  I am sure I will learn more about the process as I go along but here is my take on it.

Most Municipalities in Northumberland have an “upper tier” planning body.  We in Trent Hills have our own planning department.  This does not leave us free to drive our own agenda unsupervised.  In fact there are many other government entities that provide direction and authority. The Official Municipal Plan in the end must be aligned with the Provincial Policy statement , the Places to Grow Act,  Oak Ridges Moraine (west most portion of Trent hills is affected) and others.

After amalgamation the Official Plan in 1999 was termed the “Campbellford/Seymour/Percy/Hastings Joint Official Plan” .  Here is the link.

http://www.trenthills.ca/en/services/resources/TrentHillsofficalplan1999.pdf

It provides the basis for the direction of  Trent Hills.  In the ensuing years our planners have had to make amendments to the Official Plan in order to incorporate and comply with various Provincial initiatives such as those mentioned in the previous paragraph.  The changes take the form of an Official Plan “Amendment”.  For example, in 2003 the plan had to be amended to incorporate the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Act.  You can see that amendment No. 2 at  http://www.trenthills.ca/en/services/resources/amendment_2_official_plan.pdf

The latest amendment, No 5 is designed to bring us into line with the Places to Grow Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe 2005 and the County of Northumberland Growth Management Strategy  which define for us where  and how  growth is planned for our communities up to 2030.  This came to Council last week and was passed with the exception of  paragraph  31. Section 5.4 Rural Policy Area which deals with consents with regard to agricultural lands. Council believes further examination of this section is needed.

The name of the Official Plan has now been amended to the Municipality of Trent Hills Official Plan.

The following link takes you to Amendment No 5 as it was proposed.

http://www.trenthills.ca/en/services/resources/AMENDMENTNO5.pdf

A task for the new Council is to embark on a full update of ” Trent Hills Official Plan”.  On the surface it looks like we need to respond more to what we are told than what we decide for ourselves however the basis for our plans come from our community’s vision for itself.  The Planning department seeks input from the various committees,  public meetings and planning sessions.  They negotiate through the maze of directives and in the end it all feeds into the Official Plan.  We are so lucky to have such knowledgable, helpful and competent staff.  I look forward to the next four years.

Another Perfect “Perfect Pie Contest” in Warkworth

The Warkworth Town Hall Centre for the Arts was aptly named when you look at the artistry that went into the over 85 entries in Saturdays 31st Annual Perfect Pie Contest.  Decorations included chocolate dipped peanuts, pastry maple leaves, dates and fancy crust cut outs.

The event opens to the public at 1:30 but by 1:10 there was a long line up outside with each person anticipating tasting some wonderful pies.  I usually buy one of the auctioned off winning pies.  Last year I bought the winning maple cream pie and while I had promised a few pieces to friends I kept going into my kitchen and cutting off a little slice … oh it was so good.  Well , by the next morning there was one piece left … what the heck I ate it for breakfast!

This year my intention was to buy the winning savory pie and then invite friends over to share it.  I waited for the award to come up and the winning savory was a chicken and peameal bacon pie made by Caroline Glover. Coincidentally I was sitting right beside her.  This solidified my intention to buy it.  As the awards continued finally we got to the “Perfect Pie”.  Well Caroline got up to go present the award on behalf of Campbellford Chrysler and lo and behold she couldn’t  do it because she had won.  It was a lovely moment watching the surprise on her face.

Next came the auctioning off of the pies.  Rod Williams who has conducted the auction at the pie contest for over 20 years was at his comedic best and his “assistant”  auctioneer Judy Norlock provided the perfect foil as she announced her aging eyes couldn’t see nods and winks.

The various pies brought in prices from $35.00 to $85 and then came the perfect pie .. the savory one.  Well Mayor Hector MacMillan who had been in earlier but couldn’t stay had left a $100 bid for the perfect pie.  As I was about to up the bid a couple of others jumped in enthusiastically and it immediately went to $150.  I knew if I joined it would drive it much higher and since $150 was the amount I had set for myself and I had already bid for and one the youth category pumpkin pie, I sat on my hands.  I believe the Perfect Pie went for the $150 or close to that.  I was sulking.

What a wonderful event.  It is also good for the local economy.   My shop as well as the others in town were really busy as folks came into Warkworth early to drop off their pie entries and then to do some Christmas shopping while they waited for the judging.

Congratulations to the Warkworth Eastern Star Chapter 279 for such an excellent event.