KENILWORTH – Wellington North council has approved a minor variance that permits the construction of a new grain bin on a two-hectare property at 9820 Highway 6.
The bin will be about four metres away from the neighbouring property and will replace two smaller grain bins.
The variance was approved during a public committee of adjustment meeting on April 22.
Notices about the public meeting were posted on site on April 7 and mailed to applicable agencies and property owners within 60 metres.
No members of the public spoke during the meeting.
The minimum interior set back required without a variance is 18.3 metres, or 60 feet.
But the existing grain bins are not 18 metres from the neighbouring property; county planner Asavari Jadhav-Admane said the bins are five or six metres from the property line.
The central point of the new bin will be the same as the central point of one of the bins it’s replacing, noted chief building official Darren Jones, but it will be closer to the property line because it has a larger diameter.
The new bin will be approximately 18 metres (60 feet) tall.
In a report about the variance application, Jadhav-Admane stated county planners “have no concerns with the requested relief and are satisfied that the application maintains the general intent and purpose of the (county’s) official plan and the (township’s) zoning bylaw.”
The site is designated as prime agriculture in the county’s official plan and has agriculture township zoning.
“The request is desirable and appropriate for the development of the subject property,” Jadhav-Admane continued.
“The proposed grain bin is within the cluster of the existing bins and provides operational efficiency,” the report notes, while maintaining sufficient setback for access for property maintenance.
“The proposed reduction is minor in terms of the impact on the overall property … and appropriate for the use of the lot,” the report concludes.
Saugeen Valley Conservation Authority (SVCA) environmental planning technician Michael Oberle stated “SVCA staff find the application acceptable.
“The subject property does not contain any floodplains, watercourses, shorelines, wetlands valley slopes or other environmental features of interest to SVCA,” he stated in an email to the township.
“Permission from SVCA is not required for the development of the property.”
Councillor Penny Renken said, “I feel the variance is minor,” noting the neighbouring property is a farm and there are no buildings in the area of the grain bins, “so I’m fine.”
