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Joe Gallivan (Director of Planning and Economic Development) and Megan Rueckwald (Manager of Community Planning) came to Council as a delegation from Frontenac County. They brought an update on population projections for South Frontenac and outlined some of the planning advantages of introducing privately owned communal water and sewage treatment services in South Frontenac.

“The timing couldn’t be better”, said Gallivan, referring to the Township’s current updating of the Official Plan, and the projection that 80% of the County’s population growth over the next few decades is projected to occur in Southern Frontenac. He described how communal services would make it possible to develop smaller lots, to create infill and more ‘walkable’ communities. One issue is the requirement that the municipality support communal systems by assuming some responsibility for the greater degree of financial risk.

Mayor Vandewal said the first five years would be critical: if the municipality could hold some of the responsibility for that period, it would allow time to build up a reserve and become self-supporting for maintenance issues, much as the Sydenham water treatment plant has done. 

Councillor Morey referred to last week’s delegations of residents upset about a subdivision setback being changed to permit a smaller front yard setback. “Might this tightening of space and greater density discourage people?”

“This will be the Township’s decision,” said Gallivan; “There are people coming from the city who don’t know anything about septic systems, and might prefer not to have to learn how to live with one.”

Vandewal added that there would probably be a market for people who couldn’t afford large lots and houses.

Claire Dodds (Township Director of Development Services), said “This would give us a viable alternative to the current lot size, which right now we do not have. We can set the limits, the parameters. It might be a good way to provide more units for seniors.

Councillor Ruttan agreed; “Smaller lots could provide a wider range of living choices for our residents.

Deputy Mayor Sutherland asked if there was any room for consideration of the effects of climate change; Rueckwald replied that the development consultation process could take these concerns into consideration. Mayor Vandewal summed the discussion up; “What’s most important is that our Township plans and controls how future growth takes place.”

Lake Ecosystem Advisory Committee

Following a request from Council, CAO Carbone brought a draft of terms of reference for a proposed Lake Ecosystem Advisory Committee for discussion. This committee could meet quarterly and would provide a new conduit through which council and senior staff could receive feedback from Lake Associations annually in advance of the budget process, and would also provide feedback to the township as it develops a lake study grant program.

Its priority would be to “promote and support growth that meets the community’s needs while maintaining the integrity of our natural environment.”

Deputy Mayor Sutherland asked why there was no provision for a secretary for the committee: Carbone said that staff would provide clerical support.

Mayor Vandewal said it was important to be clear that this is an advisory committee, to make recommendations to Council for consideration, but it would be subject to the Official Plan, the Planning Act, and other applicable township policies.

Strategic Plan Action Items

In discussing the final draft of Council’s Strategic Plan’s action items, Mayor Vandewal said that he had heard comments that positioning South Frontenac as a community leader was all the staff’s idea, so that it was important to emphasize that the Strat Plan is the result of staff-Council collaboration.

CAO Carbone agreed: “even when staff initiates an idea, they look to council for support and direction; we do not act unilaterally.”

Vandewal said that the staff/Council interrelationship was essential:

“If it was all left up to Council, probably nothing much would happen.”

Ad Bags Litter Roadsides

The problem of plastic-bagged Frontenac This Week advertising bundles littering roadsides led to a lively discussion: while some residents may look forward to these, many of the bags just pile up along streets and roadways.

Previous discussions between the Township and the distribution company have led to many promises but no resolution. (Other than the papers along the Mayor’s road have recently been stuffed into mailboxes.) Staff agreed to try to find a resolution: they will also check with other municipalities to see how they have dealt with the problem.

Lakeshore Clearcutting

Deputy Mayor Sutherland and Mayor Vandewal distributed photos of a swath of clearcutting on the Sydenham Lake shoreline just outside the village. In spite of clear evidence that all trees and undergrowth have been removed, and much of the brush has been burned on the ice, so far there seems to be nothing in the Township’s regulations that can prevent this. Only when a building or development permit is issued can a site plan with shoreline protection be instituted.

Published in SOUTH FRONTENAC

While appreciative of the offer, North Frontenac Council declined a group of property owners suggestion that the owners would pay to amend Frontenac County’s Official Plan at its regular meeting last Friday in Plevna.

In a letter to Council Jan. 28, resident Steve Dunham wrote: “I was pleased to see general agreement on Council regarding the need for the County to change this unreasonable OP provision (treating regional Areas of Natural or Scientific Interest as Provincial ANSIs). The reason for not proceeding with the request appeared to be the cost was to wait 1 ½ years until the next scheduled OP review at the County.

“I represent a large number of private property owners impacted by the current County ANSI provisions and we find the restrictions on our private properties for that period of time is unreasonable and unacceptable.

“In order to assist the Township to move forwards on the OP request promptly, our group of property owners are offering to compensate the Township for the $750 fee associated with the OP amendment request. Please advise if Council finds this acceptable and I will ensure payment is provided promptly.”

“These people have been waiting a long time,” said Coun. Vern Hermer.

However, Clerk-Planning Manager Tara Mieske said that if the Township were to initiate such a request, the County would “require a study as to why we want the change.”

She also said that such a study would likely raise the overall cost to the $1,750 range and that in all likelihood the actual change wouldn’t happen before the scheduled OP review anyway.

“The County already has two resolutions on this from this Council,” said Mayor Ron Higgins.

“To me, the process would still take 18 months,” said Coun. John Inglis.

“The County Planner acts like this (ANSI restrictions) is cast in stone, (and) I don’t trust him (to act on such a request in a timely manner),” said Dep. Mayor Gerry Martin.

“And County Council listens to him,” said Inglis.

“And if we go ahead, it will be more work for our staff, which we’ve said we’re trying to not add to,” said Higgins.

“We’re here to represent the residents,” said Hermer. “Somebody dropped the ball way back when.”

“I’m not sure spending money is representing,” said Higgins. “I don’t wan to take their money.”

“We’ve spent more for a lot less,” said Hermer.

Higgins said he and Martin would bring the matter up at the next County Council meeting and try to get a feel for “their feeling on removing regional ANSIs.

“God save us if we get a lot of rain, they’re going to make everything a wetland,” said Hermer.

 

• • •

Coun. Fred Fowler has just learned a lesson all new councillors learn early on — if you miss a meeting and there’s an assignment nobody wants, you’ll get drafted.

Fowler wasn’t at Friday’s meeting and sure enough, he was voted in to be the Township’s representative at Solicitor General Sylvia Jones’ OPP reasonable Roundtable Sessions.

Of course there were the expected comments about how he’d be the man for the job because of his background in law enforcement.

 

• • •

Council discussed ending the practice of selling off road allowances that lead to water in a future bylaw.

“I’m against selling access to water,” said Coun. Vern Hermer.

“And we’ve been doing it for years,” said Mayor Ron Higgins.

“I’ve been trying to get access to the Mississippi River for years but we’ve sold off all of those,” said Dep. Mayor Gerry Martin. “It was a mistake.”

Published in NORTH FRONTENAC
Wednesday, 18 December 2019 12:37

Council turns down request on trail permits

North Frontenac Council essentially turned down a request from the Ompah Community Volunteer Association (OCVA) to honour trail permits from the Ottawa Valley ATV Club (OVATVC) and the Ontario Federation of ATVs (OFATV) in agreements similar to the one the Township has with the Eastern Ontario Trails Alliance (EOTA).

“The message is that we’re not going to entertain multiple agreements,” said Mayor Ron Higgins. “Get together and come as one.”

In a letter to Council, OCVA President Mike Widmeyer asked for an agreement with the OVATVC and OFATV advising that the two clubs “have played a major role in the community’s ability to participate i the spring and fall ATV runs for the last seven years.

“Recent issues regarding trail passes, maps, road passes, threatened legal action, etc, may impact the Club’s ability to participate in the spring and fall ATV events.”

“If on our trail(s), they’ll have to have a North Frontenac or an EOTA trail permit,” said Corey Klatt, manager of community development. “People want access but they’re not bringing anything to the table.

“It’s a North Frontenac project (and) we need revenue.

“And frankly, I don’t want to be in the middle of a disagreement or a ‘who does what.’”

Klatt said the arrangement with the EOTA has evolved to the point where the EOTA has contributed $49,588.16 since 2009 including one-time donations and covering permit sales shortfalls for the Crown Land Stewardship Program (CLSP).

“Moreover, the EOTA applied for Provincial funding in 2019 and included a request for $20,000 for the CLSP within their application,” Klatt said. “We will know if this request for funding was successful in 2020.

“Furthermore, the EOTA made a donation of $12,000 to the Township in 2016 for the construction of the Ompah Rest Stop.”

He said “if they want us to honour their trail passes, they’ll have to come to Council with a business case.”

There was considerable discussion on the matter before a decision however.

“I don’t know why we couldn’t allow as many people as possible to contribute to our trails,” said Coun. Vern Hermer.

“This could open up a can of worms,” said Higgins.

“It could be a cash cow,” said Coun. John Inglis.

“It’s a cash cow now, leave it as it is,” said Dep. Mayor Fred Perry.

 

• • •

And speaking of Dep. Mayor Fred Perry, the last meeting of the decade was also his last as deputy major.

Council voted 5-2 to name Coun. Gerry Martin as deputy mayor for 2020.

Perry could of course put his name forward for 2021.

 

• • •

Council reserved making a decision on Rural Frontenac Community Services request for $5,400 to provide children’s services until budget time.

“We’re taking our time this year,” said Mayor Ron Higgins. “We’re not expecting to approve the budget until February or March.”

 

• • •

The internet “speed test” is now active on the Township website. The test will provide documentation for government grants related to the development of high-speed internet networks.

 

• • •

Mayor Ron Higgins updated Council on his recent meetings with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry.

Higgins said the District Officer in Bancroft commended the lake associations for their work on evasive species and that there was some discussion to “resurrect our two fish hatcheries.”

The discussion migrated to Areas of Natural or Scientific Interest (ANSI) and that unlike the Frontenac County Official Plan, the Ministry did not acknowledge Regional ANSIs, only Provincial ones.

“They’re not interested in non-provincial ones,” Higgins said.

“What it is right now is that if somebody is in an ANSI and they want a building permit, there needs to be a study,” said CAO Cheryl Robson.

“The County is making a mistake,” said Coun. John Inglis

“Compounding a mistake,” said Coun. Gerry Martin.

“I think we need to ask (the County) for an Official Plan amendment,” said Higgins.

Published in NORTH FRONTENAC

Central Frontenac Township kicked off the first of three open houses on the revisiting of its Official Plan (mandated by Provincial Law) last week in Sharbot Lake with an information session on Waterfront Development Policies. Subsequent open houses on Settlement Areas and Growth Management and Rural Areas and Agriculture are planned on following Wednesdays.

About 50 people including staff and four members of Central Frontenac Council.

“This is a complete overhaul of the Official Plan,” said Frontenac County Manager of Community Planning Megan Rueckwald, who also serves as Central Frontenac’s planner. “It will be more comprehensive and not just for waterfront areas.”

One proposal is to reduce the minimum lot size to 2 acres (0.8 hectares) from the current 2.47 acres (1 hectare).

“But there will be other measures introduced to deal with character and density along the waterfronts,” she said. “For example, there is work on backlanes and a 30-metre setback has been solidified.

“Also there are new policies to govern lot coverage within 60 metres (200 feet) of the high water mark.”

As well, there are specific sections to govern the Garrison Shores development and the fish culture station at White Lake.

Rueckwald said they plan to bring a report to a Council meeting in September summarizing the feedback they receive.

However, she said there is a new Provincial Policy Statement expected in October and any final changes to the Official Plan will likely wait until it comes out, in order to be consistent with the PPS and Frontenac County Official Plan.

So, there’s still plenty of time to have your say.

The third and final open house is scheduled for Aug. 28 at 6 p.m. in Sharbot Lake’s Oso Hall.

Or you can contact Rueckwald directly at 613-548-9400 ext. 351 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Published in CENTRAL FRONTENAC

One of new CAO Neil Carbone’s first acts at his first solo Council meeting was to overrule a suggestion that work for improvements to Point Court in Sydenham go to a suggested vendor.

Council had originally budgeted $8,000 for improvements

However, an anonymous donor to come forward with a $25,000 donation, as long as the township expands the scope of the work and puts in two Pickleball courts in addition to a tennis court.

The improvements are estimated to cost over $32,000.

The donor also suggested the Canada Court Company to complete the work at a cost of $32,377.

However, Carbone was concerned that the procedure contravened the Township’s Procurement Policy and was worried “it could set a precedent where donations were involved.”

Coun. Alan Revill asked if that could cause a delay, saying he’d heard concerns that that could jeopardize the donation.

Carbone replied that while a delay could affect the donation, he didn’t see it being a concern in this case.

“Any delay would be minimal,” Carbone said. “And once we get RFPs, we can award the contract straight away because it won’t have to come back to Council for approval.”

Desert Lake Road Culvert

Council approved the bid of Akman Construction Inc. for the Desert Lake Road culvert replacements in the amount of $555,910.15 including the non-rebatable portion of the HST.

Council also approve the expenditure of up to $100,000 from the 2019 Linear Asset Capital Contingency allocation to cover a shortfall in budgeting in order to move ahead with the project.

The contingency amount will cover $55,910.55 for the construction tender and an estimated $25,000 for consultant fees for contract administration and inspection of the project.

About $30,000 has been spent prior to 2019 for the design of the project.

The estimated total cost of the project including design, construction and inspection is about $630,000.

Rec Committee appointees

Council named its rec committee appointees for the period ending Sept. 30, 2020.

Coun. Doug Morey and Coun. Ross Sutherland will serve on the Community Programing and Events Committee.

Coun. Norm Roberts and Coun. Pat Barr will serve on the Recreation and Leisure Facilities Committee.

Assistant Fire Chief

Council passed a bylaw naming Alexander Bennett as Assistant Fire Chief of Fire Prevention and Training. In the absence of the Fire Chief, Bennett would carry out the duties of Fire Chief.

Development Charges bylaw passed

Without further debate, Council passed its new developmental charges bylaw.

“That comes into effect tomorrow,” said Mayor Ron Vandewal.

 

 

 

 

 

Quotes on Special Council meeting.

 

Claire Dodds, Director of Development Services said “this is just the beginning of the process. Staff is recommending that Council endorse the next steps and proposed timeline for undertaking the preparation of a new Official Plan (and) that Council direct the director of development services to release a Request for Proposal to engage a planning consultant to prepare a new Official Plan for South Frontenac.”

 

The Special Meeting Tuesday night was Phase 1 of 8 phases. Phase 7, which is adoption of the new Official Plan by South Frontenac Council, is scheduled for August of 2021. Phase 8, which is the approval of Frontenac County, is scheduled for October of 2021.

That prompted Mayor Ron Vandewal to observe: “As we can all see, this won’t be over tomorrow, it’s a two-year process.

“Does that mean everybody is going to get everything they want? Probably not.”

 

Coun. Ross Sutherland expressed concern that there may be confusion with the ongoing Strategic Plan preparations.

“Some people may think comments they’ve made regarding the Strategic Plan are enough and that they won’t have to repeat them for the Official Plan,” Sutherland said. “And there may be some overlapping.

“I want to make certain that comments on the Official Plan don’t get lost.”

 

Dodds said her department would take every measure possible to ensure that doesn’t happen.

Published in SOUTH FRONTENAC

The South Frontenac Planning Department receives a steady stream of inquiries from individuals and developers who are looking to do business in South Frontenac.

Given the nature of land use planning, especially in a rural area where each piece of property brings unique challenges with it, some of these inquiries go nowhere, and others can seem like a rabbit hole, leading to a years’ long, expensive, detailed process that is sometimes mired in controversy and often results in delays and added costs.

The township has ramped up its planning department to deal with the influx of complex applications, and developed a closer working relationship with Frontenac Count’s planning department, since applications for plans of subdivision and plans of land use condominium, which are the most complex and quite often controversial planning applications, are subject to approval by Frontenac County.

On top of everything, the fact that much of the demand in the marketplace is for year-round homes on water within a short drive from the city of Kingston, pitting development pressures against environmental concerns in many cases.

And now the building permits sales data is starting to indicate that the planning boom in South Frontenac may be resulting in an increase in construction activity. For a number of years, permit sales have hovered around the $30 million mark annually in the township.

The second quarter (April to June) is the busiest each year, but this year it was the busiest quarter in at least 4 years. The construction value was $14.8 million over the 90 day period, $1.8 million more than last year, $2 million more than the same period in 2017, and $3 million more than 2016. The total is about the same, in one quarter, as the three other Frontenac Township combined permit values for most years.

And it is new construction of single-family dwellings that is the main driver of the construction boom in the township. Permits for 39 new homes were issued in the 2nd quarter of this year, an increase over 26 in 2018 and 32 in the 2nd quarter of 2017.

If the pattern from previous years holds, more new home permits will be sold in the second half of the year than in the first half and the total for 2019 could very well reach 85 to 90, well up from 66 in 2018, and 71 in each of 2017 and 2016.

It all sets up a pretty interesting context for the township to be conducting both a Strategic and an Official Review just as the Chief Administrative Officer, Neil Carbone, assumes his role. There is a short survey posted on the township website for the Strategic Plan, and public meetings are set for Sunbury, Sydenham and Verona this month, all aimed at creating a document that may be referred to by council and staff if they are seeking direction when making decisions over the next few years. But while a strategic plan may, at best, reflect the intentions of the council and residents of the township and one or two over-arching goals, it has not real teeth.

The Official Plan, however, can create new opportunities for residents and developers alike, and can close off opportunities as well, all within the confines of a set of provincially mandated standards as expressed in the provincial policy statement and codified in the provincial planning act.

Claire Dodds, the Director of Development Services for South Frontenac, outlined a process for updating the township Official in a presentation to a Public Meeting as part of the August meeting of Council on Tuesday night.

As she worked through the process in her report, she made reference to an issue that defines an area of tension both within the township and between the township and the planning policy directives coming from the Province of Ontario.

Under the heading of growth management, one of the bullets in the report says: “Province permits limited growth in rural areas and direct majority of growth to settlement areas”.

While this logic makes sense as a general rule, it does not easily fit the reality in Frontenac County. For one thing, the demand is greater for lots in the countryside, and particularly near water, than within the hamlets. Secondly, among the hamlets only Sydenham has a municipal water system and none of the hamlets have a municipal sewage system, more density in hamlet is not necessarily advisable since that involves crowding septic systems together as well as stressing the water table.

As part of its Official Plan review, South Frontenac may look at changing the boundaries of its hamlets to create more opportunities, and it may also look at the possibility of creating smaller scale, privately held water and sewer systems within individual developments. This is something that the Frontenac County Development department has been looking, and in Claire Dodds report to council she refers to proposes changes in provincial policy that might create “flexibility by clarifying perceived barriers to sewage and water treatment policies in rural settlement areas.

There is another factor that will certainly become apparent as the Official Plan process gets underway in South Frontenac. There are a significant number of people in any rural township, and certainly in one experience growth pressure such as South Frontenac is facing, who will see only a downside to significant growth.

Rural landowners do not necessarily want to live too close to their neighbours, in fact they often don’t want to see their neighbours at all. And just about every proposal for a waterfront development will be opposed by neighbours on the lake, for good environmental reasons and for self interested reasons as well.

These are just some of the tensions that will be expressed through the Official Plan process in the township.

Managing growth, creating business opportunities in the retail sector, and creating employment through growth, will be major factors throughout this process, which is projected to take over 2 years to complete.

While only a small percentage of residents will take an interest in the Official Plan, those that do will be taking a keen, active interest, and many who don’t will still find, eventually, that the plan that emerges from this effort will one day have an impact on their living situation or their financial situation.

Published in Editorials

After 18 months, two open houses and two public meetings, North Frontenac Council passed the Township’s Zoning Bylaw at its regular meeting last Friday in Plevna.

One of the more controversial aspects of the new bylaw concerned the designation of Areas of Natural or Scientific Interest (ANSI) and Coun. Vernon Hermer asked what effects taking them out of the Zoning Bylaw but leaving them in the Official Plan would have.

“If you apply for a building permit on land within an ANSI, it will be the same as any other application,” said Clerk/Planning Manager Tara Mieske. “But, if you want a minor variance, severance, or plan of subdivision, then yes, it will trigger the need for studies.

“But, it will not require a zoning bylaw amendment.”

Council did amend its procedural bylaw to allow one member of the public to speak before the bylaw was passed.

After Council passed an amendment to Section 3.36 of the Zoning Bylaw (which governs allowing recreational vehicles like motorhomes on single family dwelling lots as well as dwelling lots) to allow such vehicles “once in a 90-day period,” resident James White apologized for coming late to the discussion but said he’d just found out about the regulations and since he had a rather large property to which he wanted to invite several family members who had such vehicles, he wanted to know if he’d be allowed to have “more than one trailer” on his property for a reunion.

“Life is not a bylaw, it’s life,” he said. “Freedom is one of the reasons people want to live back here.”

Mieske assured White that “there are procedures to allow for things like that. You can come and apply for an exemption to allow it.”

 

• • •

Responding to a request from resident Wendi Hudson to reduce speed on a portion of Myers Cave Road, Coun. John Inglis proposed adding more electronic signs that show a driver’s speed.

“I’ve seen more and more of these signs and I know that some councilors say they don’t work (but) I’d like to see us buy a few more of them and move them around,” he said. “It’s probably a technology that’s getting cheaper.”

Inglis said that as far as getting drivers to slow down, at least in his own case “they kinda do work.”

Coun. Vernon Hermer concurred.

“There’s one going into Tweed and you notice it,” Hermer said. “And they’re pretty accurate too.”

Council resolved to look into buying more of the signs.

 

• • •

A request for private lane assistance on Mills Lane in Cloyne by resident Mark Bernacki was flatly refused by Council.

“We don’t do work on private lanes,” said Dep. Mayor Fred Perry. “And we don’t have anything to do with ATVs in there.

“It would be a president for private lanes and there are a lot of them.”

Coun. Gerry Martin agreed.

“I live on a private lane,” Martin said.

“I do too,” said Perry.

Published in NORTH FRONTENAC

Prior to Tuesday’s regular Central Frontenac Council meeting at Oso Hall, the Township held an annual tradition — naming its Seniors of the Year, complete with an opening by Township Crier Paddy O’Connor and four tunes from the Arden Glee Club.

Mayor Frances Smith welcomed a rather large crowd by praising all the work that volunteers in the community do, and noting that seniors tend to be a big part of that.

“I read a story recently that said seniors who volunteer live longer — and we’re all proof of that,” she said.

Ward One’s award recipient this year is Gord Brown, who was introduced by Coun. Tom Dewey.

“It turns out that Gord and I grew up in the same area and both went to high school in Napanee,” Dewey said. “But Gord went on to Royal Military College and after being an engineer in the military, he worked for CHEO for 13 years.

“He’s been married to his wife Karen for 43 years and is active in the Kennebec Rec Committee, the Kennebec Lake Association and Friends of Arden.

“He’s been the driving force behind the Kennebec Trail and the Blue Jays farm team, aka The Arden Seniors.”

“I’m obviously more confident on the Kennebec Trails with a weed whacker than talking in front of a large crowd,” Brown said. “The Arden community is blessed with so many wonderful people that it’s humbling to be singled out among them.”

Ward Two’s recipient is Dave Willis, who was introduced by Coun. Elwin Burke.

“I’ve known Dave for 25 years,” Burke said. “I can’t remember ever meeting a better guy.”

“Sue and I have lived across the province from Eastern to Northwestern Ontario,” Willis said. “But this is home.

“I was a policeman here for the last 17 years of my career (and) I’m so proud of the youth in this area.

“There were one or two who caused some trouble but the vast majority of them were good kids and that says a lot about their parents.”

Ward Three’s recipient is Ken Fisher. He was introduced by Coun. Bill MacDonald.

“Ken’s a relatively new member of this community, so I had to call his wife to get some information on him,” MacDonald said. “Most of it, I can’t say here. But he grew up in Ottawa and graduated from Queen’s.

“He’s been very involved in the business community and I think he lives on the internet. He’s constantly reminding people of events coming up in their email.”

“I’ve been here 11 years,” Fisher said. “I’ve lived all over the world and this is the happiest period of my life.”

Ward Four’s recipient is Heather Fox. She was introduced by Coun. Nicki Gowdy.

“Heather grew up and still lives here,” Gowdy said. “She’s been instrumental in the Godfrey Women’s Institute and helped with the Lions Club and Fire Department, among other things.”

“She’s been such a presence on both sides of the Council table,” said Coun. Brent Cameron, alluding to the fact that served as clerk in Hinchinbrooke Township before becoming Central Frontenac’s first clerk. She later spent a term as councilor for District Four.

“I just got out of hospital so I can’t talk,” Fox said. “Thanks everybody.”

Fire stats?

After the presentations and some refreshments, the regular Council meeting got underway.

Coun. Brent Cameron asked Fire Chief Greg Robinson for an update on statistics given the problem the department has had with software recently.

“From my standpoint, I have to rely on data to make decisions,” Cameron said. “It may not be entered into a computer but we should have a record of calls and training.”

“Unfortunately that’s one of the most frustrating things I’ve had to deal with,” Robinson said. “I don’t have a clear answer.”

Robinson said he would endeavor to have some statistics for Council soon.

Coun Sherry Whan asked about recruitment.

“It’s not been as successful as we’d hoped,” Robinson said.

Direction needed for OP revision

Council got an update on its Official Plan revision from County planner Megan Reuckwald. Reuckwald said she needed some direction on things like settlement areas, community wells and septic systems, garden suites, trailers and backyard chickens.

She said they’re looking at July 17 to put revisions up on the Township website and they scheduled Open Houses for July 31 (waterfront lots), Aug. 7 (settlement areas), and Aug. 14 (rural areas in general).

The open houses are scheduled from 6 to 8 p.m. at Oso Hall.

The current Central Frontenac Official Plan was approved 11 years ago, before there even was a County Official Plan and has to be updated to mesh with the County plan.

Published in CENTRAL FRONTENAC

Removal of the term ANSI (Area of Natural or Scientific Interest) from the text and schedules of North Frontenac’s Zoning Bylaw was probably the most significant revision to emerge from the special Council meeting last Friday in Plevna.

Just what effect that might have on future development is unclear however as the term still remains part of Frontenac County’s Official Plan, which, as county planner Megan Rueckwald pointed out, supersedes any township document.

There were 10 changes in total, including several definition changes (pod, tiny home, recreational vehicle) as well as regulations allowing principal storage units on waterfront lots at least 150 metres from the water and the policies for recreational vehicles on vacant lots (maximum 14 days in a 90-day period). Another change clarifies that mainland parking and water access is not required for existing water access lots but will be required for any new water access lot.

“We’re going to need an encyclopedia to understand all these definitions,” said Coun. Vernon Hermer.

Still to be added to the bylaw are the addition of American safety standards to the RV definition, the removal of accessory dwellings from industrial zones, the inclusion of current zoning mapping of unstable soils rather than the draft mapping for such soils, a definition for lot of record and the establishment of a minimum lot size.

“Hopefully, this will be passed in July,” said Tracy Zander, of ZanderPlan, who wrote most of the bylaw. Zander noted that there have been “two public meetings and two open houses” for this bylaw.

One thing that won’t be changing however is a provision to allow raising more than chickens in backyards.

Despite Dep. Mayor Fred Perry’s suggestion that “chickens” be changed to “fowl,” a lengthy discussion on the exclusion of roosters and peacocks, Clerk/Planning Manager Tara Mieske provided the definitive argument to not changing the wording when she said: “We’ve consulted on this bylaw with the public for four months and I’m not comfortable (with that big a change). People will call and we’ll (staff) have to explain what the bylaw permits.”

“OK, let’s leave it at chickens,” said Coun. Wayne Good. “I’m done.”

The meeting ended on a somewhat sour note after Mayor Ron Higgins asked for public comments.

Resident Herbert Kent, who attends almost all Council meetings, tried to comment that Council wasn’t taking into account the ramifications some of their decisions but Higgins said Kent’s comments weren’t “pertinent to today’s agenda items.”

This led to a heated exchange between the two with Higgins threatening to have Kent removed.

Kent replied that wouldn’t be necessary and left of his own accord.

Published in NORTH FRONTENAC

As a general rule, public meetings on zoning bylaws don’t attract a large audience. North Frontenac’s such meeting last Friday at the Clar-Mill Hall in Plevna was an exception to that rule as the hall was full.

Planner Tracy Zander of ZanderPlan began the meeting by outlining several of the recent changes that have been made to the bylaw as a result of public feedback.

“The original plan was to take six to eight months,” she said. “But it’s been over a year now.”

Following a public meeting in November of last year, she said the main changes have included:

• The deletion of ‘forestry management’ and the inclusion of a new definition for ‘commercial forestry operation’

• New guidelines for ‘principle storage units’ in rural zones on properties that have no principle dwelling units

• Guidelines pertaining to boathouses

• Permission for ‘rural co-op housing,’ which she said “has a long history in the township”

• Parking for island and water access only properties

But while there were those who came to discuss most of the above changes, the issue receiving the most attention seemed to be Areas of Natural and Scientific Interest (ANSI).

The ANSIs, created by the Province, severely restrict development and/or usage in order to protect unique features, such as animal or plant habitat, or geological features.

ANSIs are noted in Frontenac County’s Official Plan as well as the Township Official Plan.

However, there has been considerable opposition to their inclusion in the zoning bylaw from a variety of sources, including residents who might like to subdivide their property in the future (for offspring and other uses), logging operators and/or mining operations such as gravel pits.

Much of the opposition comes in the form of not knowing the specifics of why the the individual ANSIs were created in the first place and if they still are applicable (for example in the case of species protection, are the species still present).

Mayor Ron Higgins has been trying to get some answers from MNRF for some time now without much success.

“It’s been a high priority for me this past month and we did invite the MNRF to have a representative here for this meeting but they’ve had cutbacks and put a ban on travel,” he said. “We couldn’t convince anyone from Bancroft to come (and) we cannot acquire the designation justification documents.”

“We just feel overall, we shouldn’t have to prove the MNRF wrong,” said resident and owner of a gravel pit business Darwyn Sproule. “MNRF should prove they’re (ANSIs) needed.

“County planning exceeded (its authority) by promoting regional ANSIs to the same level as provincial ANSIs.”

In Sproule’s case, an ANSI has been laid over his licensed gravel operation.

Mark Snider, a planning consultant hired by Sproule said that zoning an ANSI as Environmentally Protected is “excessive and unnecessary.

“The ANSI west of Palmerston Lake includes a significant portion of the Ompah Settlement Area (and) if a new lot is created, it triggers an approval process.

“The ANSI would then trigger an environmental impact study (which can cost thousands of dollars).”

While Higgins told the crowd that there would be no decisions taken that day and that the meeting was for Council to gather information, Council did pass a resolution instructing staff to “remove ANSIs from the Zoning Bylaw” to considerable applause.

(Editors note – Darwyn Sproule is the Public Works Manager for the Township of North Frontenac as well as a property owner. He was speaking as a private citizen at the meeting, not a township official)

Published in NORTH FRONTENAC
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With the participation of the Government of Canada