Councillor wonders what WFA officials think of farm severance on ‘perfectly good farm field’
MAPLETON – All but one councilor here supports a severance on a farm just outside of Teviotdale.
The owners of the property, at 8622 Concession 14, are hoping to sever 0.7 hectares (1.7 acres) and retain 37.5 hectares (94.3 acres).
The severed lot is rural residential with a house that is less than five years old, and the retained lot is farmland.
The retained farmland is set to be consolidated with other land owned by the Dekker family.
The Wellington County land division committee is set to review the application under surplus farm dwelling policies.
Township planners recommended Mapleton council support the application, as long as a list of five conditions is met, including upgrading driveway access and restricting residential uses on the retained land.
Township planners state in a report that the application meets all criteria set out in the county’s official plan, including:
– the retained lot is large enough to function as a significant part of the overall farm unit;
– the severance does not render the remaining lands difficult or inefficient to farm;
– the amount of good farmland on the severed lot is kept to a minimum; and
– the surplus residence is habitable and not expected to be demolished.
The commenting agencies are the township’s building and fire department, which had no comments or concerns, and its public works department, which noted a driveway access permit may be required.
Councillor Michael Martin asked if the Wellington Federation of Agriculture (WFA) is able to comment on applications like this one.
“I’m curious to know what an advocacy group like that thinks of an application like this that was a perfectly good farm field a couple years ago and is now a brand new house and is now being declared surplus,” said Martin.
Mapleton planner Michelle McCabe said as the WFA is “simply an advocacy group, they are not in the listed mandatory agencies to be circulated.”
However, McCabe said “we have always done our best to work with the WFA. I’ve also spent a fair bit of time with (WFA president) Barclay Nap ... as he has said here, planning is not his forte.”
Nap told the Community News he couldn’t comment on this specific application by press deadline because he needed to discuss it with the WFA’s land use committee and board.
“It is an interesting scenario, and we will have a comment on it to the county,” Nap said.
Mayor Gregg Davidson and councillors Lori Woodham, Amanda Reid and Marlene Ottens voted in support of the severance application, while Martin abstained.
