Spurred on by concerned neighbours of a Trafalgar Road property owner accepting hundreds of loads of fill, Erin council has passed a bylaw to immediately stop the dumping of all fill on local agricultural properties.
Phil and Loretta Bender, who own the property in question on the east side of Trafalgar Road, south of Brisbane, claim they are simply trying to improve the viability of their land.
But several neighbours, who had previously asked the town to investigate, came to council on June 2 to put a stop to the dumping of fill – in some areas as deep as 2.5 metres – which they said could cause irreparable damage to nearby properties.
“We have more water than we can handle in the spring as it is; this isn’t going to help any,” said Paul Hayward, whose property is directly adjacent to the Bender property.
Fellow neighbour Stephanie Burke said dump trucks are accessing the Bender property every three minutes, with the goal of raising the level of the entire 80-acre property by a minimum of several feet. The Advertiser confirmed on June 3 that Burke’s truck traffic estimate was accurate.
“It’s a mess,” Burke told council. “This is urgent … We don’t know what’s going to happen.”
Planner Sally Stull is currently working on a fill bylaw for the town, but after visiting the site several days earlier, Erin councillors agreed on June 2 an interim control bylaw is necessary to stop the dumping of fill in the meantime.
“I have a major concern as to what they’re actually dumping on the site,” said councillor Ken Chapman, adding he is concerned about possible oil or even carcinogens in the fill.
“As far as I’m concerned, this stuff is coming from Brampton and Mississauga and it’s not going to end – ever.”
Mayor Rod Finnie said he understands the concern, but trying to prohibit anyone from accepting fill for profit is “beyond the powers of a municipal government.” He suggested neighbours might be best to pursue private legal action.
Stull said an interim control bylaw may be enough to deter the acceptance of fill for a few weeks, but its legality could be in question because it would fall under the Planning Act, while fill is considered a matter under the Municipal Act.
Regardless, Chapman proposed a resolution to have staff prepare an interim control bylaw, which was unanimously passed by council.
But at a special meeting the following day to approve the temporary bylaw, the Benders objected to the idea, as well as the process.
“We’re trying to make it a farm again,” Loretta Bender said. She explained their land has deteriorated to the point that nothing survives on it, including many once-productive apple trees.
“Here we are trying to do something good, and people are trying to stop us,” she said, adding the family would not even have started refurbishing the land if they knew there would be such problems.
As well, she complained about not being notified of council’s intent to pass an interim control bylaw. She said the family found out about the special meeting only by chance from the town’s bylaw enforcement officer, Clive Ascher, who was camped out in front of their property.
Councillor Barb Tocher told the Benders there is no requirement for pubic notice for an interim bylaw, because such legislation is passed only in urgent circumstances.
Chapman said the main concerns of the town are drainage and the quality of fill being used. But despite statements from neighbours that the fill includes bricks and other foreign debris, the Benders claimed otherwise and presented council with detailed soil reports.
They also said they have received approval from the Credit Valley Conservation authority and the Grand River Conservation Authority, as well as the Ministry of the Environment.
“We did nothing wrong,” Phil Bender told council.
Councillor Josie Wintersinger said the one thing missing in the Benders’ file is an indication of exactly how many tonnes of fill are going in on the property.
They replied it’s difficult to give an exact number, but confirmed fill depth ranges from 0.5 metres to 2.5 metres and they expect the dumping to continue until August.
“If you stop us now we won’t have any topsoil,” Loretta Bender said, adding the family is firmly opposed to any interim control bylaw, as well as any restrictive measures in a permanent fill bylaw.
Nearby landowner David Kemp is also receiving fill from the same company, and he, too, told council he is opposed to anything that would force him to stop in the middle of his project.
Finnie said the interim bylaw could be in effect for as short a period as two weeks, because council intends to pass a new fill bylaw at its next meeting on June 16.
“I’m hoping it’s a reasonable solution that everybody will be able to buy into. That’s the intent,” Finnie said.
Tocher said the town is willing to work with residents who, like Kemp and the Benders, are in the middle of a project.
“We don’t want to see it left the way it is either,” Tocher said. Chapman added, “At the the end of the day, no one wants to stop you from doing this if you’re going to do it right.”
Council unanimously passed the interim control bylaw prohibiting the dumping of fill on – and significant grading of – agricultural properties in the town.
