Any chance for future expansion of the hamlet of Morriston depends on the level of servicing Puslinch Township is willing to provide there.
That was the message relayed to council last week by county planner Gary Cousins, who came to council along with Mark Paoli to provide an update on the county’s five-year review of its official plan.
“We’re going to follow your direction,”?Cousins said in response to Mayor Brad Whitcombe’s inquiry about whether local planning officials should start building a case for Morriston’s expansion in preparation for the 10-year review of the Greenbelt Plan in 2015.
However, Cousins said the township will have to address water and wastewater services in the hamlet at some point – just like the Erin council is doing now for that community.
Whitcombe questioned the need for the “draconian” regulations within the Greenbelt Plan, especially in an area like Morriston, which is “right on the edge” of the greenbelt – 1.8 million acres of environmentally sensitive and agricultural land in the Golden Horseshoe that is protected from urban development.
Years ago, Whitcombe said, he was told “quite a story” by a government representative: that Puslinch officials shouldn’t worry about the impending Greenbelt Act because it wouldn’t affect “modest expansion.”
But, as explained by Paoli, the act “doesn’t allow for any of the urban centres to expand, and that includes Morriston.”
Expansion elsewhere
When asked about the number of lots available for severance in the township, Cousins said currently there are many.
But in the future, those opportunities will dry up, he added.
He said there is not a lot of opportunity for expansion in Morriston because of the Greenbelt, and expansion is also limited in Aberfoyle due to the environmental features in the area.
Yet the government has given municipalities direct orders to concentrate on fully serviced ares for expansion.
Aggregate approval
Another item highlighted in the official plan review will be approval for aggregate operations, which is of particular interest in Puslinch Township.
Councillor Matthew Bulmer said the approval process is seen as “linear,” but it is actually a concurrent one, with many processes – from aggregate licences to zoning to official plan amendments – all going on at once.
“I’d like to put the cart kind of back behind the horse, there,” Bulmer said.
He also suggested the township and county use any authority it has to control aggregate operations in stages.
Cousins, while sympathetic, said the county can not have more strict regulations in its official plan than those put in place by the province.
“We’re always willing to use the municipal authority we have,” Cousins said. “But we don’t have the same tools to control an aggregate operation as we have to control a gas station.”
Whitcombe agreed with Bulmer, and noted, when it comes to the aggregate approval process, “We’re on the front lines with the dullest tool in the tool box.”
Cousins said he hopes the province allows municipalities to retain the authority they do have, and possibly give them more.
ANSI boundary
Councillor Don McKay said the Ministry of Natural Resources ignored comments from Puslinch council on the boundary of the Galt moraine’s area of natural and scientific interest (ANSI), as it applied to the Neubauer gravel pit proposal.
The ministry changed the boundary regardless, and then ignored the township’s request for a meeting afterwards, he added.
“What can we do … to give us more responsibility and more authority to protect those areas?” McKay asked. Cousins replied the problem is there is very limited expertise to identify the location of the ANSI.
“In my view, I don’t see that there’s a lot to be gained,” he said of fighting the province on the ANSI boundary.
The moraine
When it comes to the Galt moraine itself, Paoli said the township has to be careful with what it wants to accomplish by including the moraine in the official plan.
He noted some of the industrial businesses in Guelph-Eramosa and Puslinch are located atop the moraine, as is the area west of Morriston that could house the expansion of the village.
Whitcombe said addressing the problem could be as easy as incorporating the old adage of “form and function.” If the proper guidelines are in place, he explained, certain development could be allowed above the groundwater recharge area as long as they don’t affect the moraine’s form and function.
Cousins agreed that is a good place to start, but said he can’t foresee the county prohibiting a long list of activities on and around the moraine.
Neighbour to the north
McKay said he is concerned about the different standards in place in Puslinch and in Guelph.
Using the city’s recent Ontario Municipal Board appeal of the Milburn Auto Sales rezoning as an example, he explained the city seems to think it can do whatever it wants near the Puslinch border, but the same opportunity does not exist for the township.
Both sides need to recognize the natural boundaries of the area, and not just the municipal ones, McKay added.
In the last 28 years, there have only been three OMB appeals by the city for Puslinch matters, Cousins said (all three were won by the township).
Even the best of neighbours will have disputes from time to time, he added, but since two of the OMB appeals have occurred within the last year, maybe some fence mending is required. Whitcombe said the city recently hired a new policy staffer and since then it has filed two OMB appeals. He noted the new employee will likely be told by the city to “tread lightly” from now on.
