| Aug 11, 2005


Untitled Page

Home | Local Weather | Editorial Policy

Feature Article

August 11, 2005

. | Navigate | .

ArchiveImage GalleryAlgonquin Land Claims

Gray MerriamLegaleseGeneral information and opinion on legal topics by Rural Legal ServicesNature Reflectionsby Jean GriffinNight Skiesby Leo Enright

Addington Highlands Council meeting

by Jeff Green

Northbrook resident Karen Elliot travelled to Denbigh to address Addington Highlands Council at their sole August meeting. Elliott is concerned about the traffic situation in Northbrook, and congestion that results from parking on Hwy. 41.

Council will request that the OPP enforce the No Parking provisions that are in place.

Woes_innkeepers_wife

Two years ago there was a public meeting with Ministry of Transportation Officials concerning putting a stoplight in at the corner of Hwy. 41 and Peterson Road. At the time Ministry engineers said a stoplight was warranted for safety reasons. There was some contentiousness over changes to entranceways that would have to take place. Township Clerk-Treasurer Jack Pauhl has been in contact with Ministry of Transportation Officials over the stoplight. Apparently, the engineering has been finalised and it is just a matter of finding funding for the project in the Ministry budget.

Official Plan hits snag – The Township approved its Official Plan late last year and forwarded the document to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs in Toronto for review. When the Official Plan came back there were the usual requests for wording changes, but there are were also two requests for changes that are proving difficult for the township to accept. The Ministry would like the township to limit year-round development to public roadways, and prohibit permanent dwellings from private roads.

“Many people have been working at converting cottage properties into year-round residences in recent years, and we don’t see why the township should prohibit people from doing that,” said Reeve Ken Hook.

The other issue in dispute relates to lot size. The proposed Official Plan has a minimum lot size, for newly created lots, of 0.4 hectares (1 acre) and 200 feet of frontage. The Ministry is pushing for a minimum lot size of 1 hectare (2.5 acres) and 300 feet of frontage.

In neighbouring North Frontenac Township, however, there is a minimum lot size for general residential and waterfront residential lots is 0.4 hectares. Frontage requirements vary; for general residential it is 30 metres (98.4 feet) and for waterfront it is 45 metres (147.6 feet). These minimum lot size dimensions have been approved in the North Frontenac Official Plan and the comprehensive zoning bylaw, which was vetted by Municipal Affairs and was approved in April of 2004.

Addington Highlands Council is trying to arrange a meeting with representatives from Municipal Affairs to deal with these two outstanding issues.

Police reporting – The Addington Highlands Police Services Board was dissolved last month when the township moved from contract to status quo policing. The OPP has asked how the township would now like to be apprised of OPP activities in AH, and Council has decided to request quarterly reports to be sent directly to Council.

Library Fire Inspections – The two branches of the Addington Highlands Library are in need of fire inspections and Fire Chief Cuddy will be conducting them in the coming days.

$4000 from Waste Diversion Ontario – Addington Highlands has received a payment of $4,000 for the amount of recycled materials that have been collected at township dumps. This money will be placed in the township waste site closure fund.

From 2003 to 2004 the amount of recycling increased by 27% in the northern part of the township and 55% in the south. Reeve Hook attributes this increase to the implementation of the $2 bag tag system. For every bag of recyclables a free bag tag is issued, creating a significant incentive for recycling.

Support local
independant journalism by becoming a patron of the Frontenac News.