Mapleton approves rezoning to permit new Mennonite school

MAPLETON – A new three-classroom parochial school is coming to east Mapleton Township. 

It’s set to open by September 2028 with about 40 students, from kindergarten to Grade 8, from Old Order and Markham Mennonite families.

School representative Matt Frey told the Advertiser it’s unlikely the school’s enrolment will ever surpass 60. 

It will be located at 7550 12th Line, between Drayton and Alma, where a single hectare (2.5 acres) is being severed from a farm for the school, which will have frontage on Sideroad 18. 

Rezoning the severed lot to permit the school is a condition of the severance, which Wellington County’s land division committee approved in July. 

Mapleton approved the rezoning at a public meeting on Sept. 8, during which no members of the public spoke, but a few submitted letters voicing concerns. 

Neighbours Wayne and Anita Schneider questioned whether the township had investigated how the school would impact the neighbouring community, including “road usage, road wear and tear (and) business complications.” 

They also questioned whether the need for school had been researched and confirmed, and if other locations or expansion of existing schools had been considered.  

The Schneiders note their “comments are not directed toward the Mennonite community or the value of education, [but] to the suitability of this location, the long-term impacts on the surrounding agricultural area, traffic and road safety considerations, and the precedent that may be established through the approval of a permanent institutional use on prime agricultural land.” 

Their concerns were largely not discussed during the public meeting. 

Township planning manager Michelle McCabe later told the Advertiser their questions about protecting agriculture, maximum enrolment and impacts on neighbouring wells, groundwater and spring-fed ponds were not applicable, "not because they are not important (but) because they are outside of the scope of the application."

“There are several provincial and local policies in place to protect agriculture," she added.

Asked about a traffic study, McCabe said one had not been requested. 

Wellington County’s official plan permits schools on prime agricultural land when they serve communities relying extensively on horse-drawn transportation.

The Schnieders asked what portion of students would travel by horse and buggy, and how many it would take to satisfy the official plan.

McCabe said “there is no specific number requirement.” 

Frey said it’s hard to predict what portion of students will travel by horse and buggy, as it depends on which families choose to attend the new school, but he expects it to be slightly under half.

There will also be children walking and biking, he added, who are not able to currently as their school is too far. Other students will travel by car. 

Frey previously delegated to council to outline the need for the new school in that location,  including over-capacity issues at Goldstone Parochial School, and explained why additions to Goldstone would not meet that need.

He highlighted the cultural and community significance of keeping Mennonite schools small and close to the families they serve. 

“We care about the small school to build our culture, and our way of life, that we think supports families and builds community as well,” he told the Advertiser. 

It is the second proposed location for the school, as the applicants changed course after hearing concerns about the location first proposed.

“We felt like our second application was a win-win for everybody,” and addressed the neighbour’s concerns, Frey said.

In terms of impacting agriculture, Frey said the one-hectare lot for the school will not negatively affect surrounding farms.

“We are a very ag-based community,” he said, with about 95 per cent of the students expected to come from farm families.

“Our goal is to maintain family farms. And I think this will actually mitigate against the big corporate farms taking all the farmland.”  

The Schneiders expressed disappointment that the township supported the severance during a June 9 meeting “without any notification to neighbouring properties.

“The township has provided a big disservice to the community by not taking the necessary steps to include [residents and their concerns/questions] into account,” the Schneiders stated. 

Mapleton planning assistant Maggie Collis told the Advertiser the neighbours were not informed of the June 9 meeting because the township does not have decision-making authority for severance applications – Wellington County does.

The township provides recommendations only, “so we don’t circulate to neighbours,” she added. 

Neighbours Eileen Downey, Mike Downey and Theresa Campbell are not opposed to the plan, but wrote a letter to council about road safety concerns.

“The 12th Line has not historically been an area where residents or property owners have relied primarily on horse-drawn vehicles as their sole means of transportation,” the letter states. 

“It is currently a busy roadway used by passenger vehicles, large trucks and agricultural equipment, with very limited road shoulders, deep roadside ditches and vehicles travel quickly.” 

Campbell and the Downeys and say traffic concerns have been raised by 12th Line residents for decades, but they haven't been acknowledged or addressed. 

“Given the anticipated increase in traffic and the existing conditions on 12th Line, we believe it would be both beneficial and necessary to implement appropriate traffic-calming and roadway-safety measures to help protect all road users,” they state in the letter, and requested clarification on what specific mitigation measures are proposed to address roadway concerns.  

Councillor Amanda Reid asked during the public meeting if township staff had considered roadway safety or speed, and public works manager Jim Grose said all parochial schools in Wellington County must be in a zone with a maximum speed limit of 60km/h. 

Asked whether that zone would include 12th Line or just Sideroad 18, township CAO  Manny Baron told the Advertiser, “Since this is a new application, we really haven’t had a chance to discuss the speed limit yet.

"As safety around our schools is extremely important to us, when the time comes, we’ll bring the discussion back to council to ensure the new school is included in our speed limit bylaw,” Baron continued in an email.  

The Mennonite community building the school will cover the cost of upgrading Sideroad 18, including adding ditches and a turnaround large enough for a snow plow. It will remain a gravel road. 

Ongoing maintenance will be covered by Mapleton, McCabe noted, as the township owns the road.

Frey said school officials agreed to take on that expense, and to have the school’s frontage on Sideroad 18 instead of 12th Line, in recognition of the neighbours’ traffic concerns.  

He said he appreciates neighbours voicing their concerns, and he’s confident the school will not have a notable impact on 12th Line traffic, especially as most of the students who will attend the new school already take 12th Line to get to Goldstone. 

“I am satisfied that we have found a working solution for everyone and am looking forward to the school being a good, integral part of the community for many years,” Frey said. 

Local families looking to attend the school are excited, he added, and the community is grateful to Mapleton and Wellington County for approving the severance and zoning amendment.