| Jul 10, 2019


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.

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