SERVING THE MAPLETON COMMUNITY
THE
COMMUNITY NEWS VOLUME 49 ISSUE 42
DRAYTON, ONTARIO
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FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2016
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Council asked to back bid for solar projects By Patrick Raftis
Canvassers needed - Alice and George Van Ankum are looking for canvassers to help with the Canadian Diabetes Association’s annual appeal this fall. See article on page 8. Submitted photo
Township proceeding to phase two of Community Improvement Plan By Patrick Raftis DRAYTON - Mapleton Township is set to move from the study and consultation phase, to the development of a Community Improvement Plan (CIP). At an Oct. 13 public information session at the PMD arena, consultant Nancy
Reid of Vitality Planning explained the first phase of the project, study and public consultation, was compete and she presented options for moving forward with a CIP. The two-phase CIP project was initiated by the municipality in November 2015 when council approved a proposal from Meridian
Planning for the CIP development, at a cost of $24,580 plus HST. Last May, the municipality and Meridian Planning agreed to transfer the project to Vitality planning due to personnel changes at Meridian. At the Oct. 13 meeting, SEE CIP » 3
MAPLETON - Council has been asked to provide support for a proposal to install several ground-mounted solar arrays on abandoned rail line property in the township. Dennis German of German Solar Corporation says his company, based in London, has built more than 50 solar projects in Ontario since it was founded about 15 years ago. German said the company is planning to submit FIT (Feed In Tariffs) 5.0 applications to Ontario’s Independent Electricity System Operator for four small scale ground-mounted solar projects: one near Moorefield and three others off Sideroad 12, Sideroad 6 and Wellington Road 9. As part of the application process, priority points are awarded to those applications with municipal council support and German asked Mapleton council to provide documents indicating the township’s support. German notes the projects would be located on abandoned CN rail corridors and occupy less than three acres. They would involve one or two rows of panels, 12 feet above the ground and either 300 (one row) or 700 (two
rows) metres in length. He noted weed control and access for farm operations is maintained in all cases. German said the land targeted for the projects is not Class 1, 2 or 3 farmland. “There’s very little land that we are able to access for solar projects,” he pointed out. “As you know, a lot of these abandoned railways have not been used for much more than trail systems and what not.” German said the projects would not preclude use of the land as part of walking or snowmobile trials. “If there’s an interest in the community we’re open to it,” he said. Councillor Michael Martin said he is “a fan of solar equipment, especially for personal use.” However, he added, “I guess, the issue I take outside of that is more with the Green Energy Act … it’s not really accomplishing what we want it to.” While acknowledging alternative energy projects such as the one proposed by German might become efficient in the long run, “In the interim, it actually drives cost of energy up,” he said. “I think the Green Energy Act was created by a man or a woman in Toronto that drives an SUV around, probably red, and it makes them
feel good about themselves to go home and think their energy comes from wind or solar.” While acknowledging alternative energy projects “have a lot of merit,” Martin stated, “as a guy that pays a hydro bill, I think in the short term these projects drive that cost up.” German replied “we’re not getting anywhere near the feed in tariffs that we were getting” and he projected that “soon we’re going to be at grid parity or less.” Mayor Neil Driscoll questioned the location of the projects and said some of the land targeted may already have been purchased by adjacent landowners. “We are doing some title searches,” German conceded. Council passed a motion, with Martin opposed, to accept German’s presentation for information and direct staff to provide a report outlining the details of the request and draft an associated support resolution. The deadline for FIT 5.0 applications is Oct. 31 and German said awarding of contracts is anticipated in June or July. If the application is successful he expects construction would take place in 2018 and 2019. “It’s a long journey to develop a solar project,” he stated.
Farmers oppose agricultural development charge proposal By Patrick Raftis MAPLETON – The Wellington Federation of Agriculture (WFA) and a number of local farmers are voicing opposition to the township’s proposal to impose development charges on new agricultural buildings. Mapleton’s current development charges bylaw includes a 100 per cent exemption for buildings constructed for “a bona fide farm use.” A proposal presented at a public meeting on Oct. 11 would see the exemption reduced to 75%. That would mean someone building a new barn, for example, would pay 25% of the non-residential rate of $2.65 per square foot of gross floor area. The proposed 66 cents/ft2 charge would add $15,000 to $20,000 to the cost of a typical barn project, noted Mapleton resident Jeff Krul.
He also told council he felt the legislation unfairly targets livestock producers, because their barns tend to be larger than other types of farm construction impacted by the new charges. “Why is it you’re particularly aiming this at livestock barns?” Krul asked. “We need a large square footage under new requirements and housing rules – it really adds a lot of costs. We’re not the only ones using the roads with large pieces of machinery.” Mayor Neil Driscoll replied the charge, if implemented, would apply to any building, “whether it’s a shed or a dairy barn or a pig barn.” Driscoll said the charge is designed to pay for future maintenance of roads necessitated by additional traffic that accompanies growth. “We have to pay for it somehow. We don’t know how to pay for it so we’re pro-
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posing this,” said Driscoll. “The reason we’re focusing on farms is the size of the equipment you use on these roads.” Driscoll said the township struggles with the cost of rehabilitating Mapleton’s network of roads and said the provincial government’s approach to taxing farmland is a big part of the problem. Prior to 1998, properties assessed as farmland paid 100% of their assessed tax to the local municipality, then filed an application with the province to receive a 75% rebate paid directly by the province. Since then, farmland, other than the farm residence and one acre, has been allocated a tax ratio of 25%, meaning farmers pay property tax on only 25% of the assessed value of their property. That means the cost of providing the rebate, once shared province-wide, now
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falls on the non-farm municipal tax base, a policy which hits heavily agricultural municipalities like Mapleton hard. Driscoll said township representatives have taken up the issue unsuccessfully with provincial officials. “We asked that the farm property tax rebate be given back to Mapleton and it’s not going to happen. For this municipality that’s $1.52 million,” said Driscoll. Janet Harrop, president of the Wellington Federation of Agriculture (WFA) called Mapleton’s proposed changes “unacceptable” in a letter to council. “Imposing additional costs to farm capital projects will slow agricultural growth within the municipality, which is your number one economic driver and job creation engine,” Harrop stated. “Development charges are clearly to recover costs for municipal servicing of
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new buildings and to recover costs of services for the people who live on prime agricultural land. “In the case of farm buildings there are no water or wastewater services used and the people who live on the land already pay development charges when they build their residential dwelling.” WFA vice president Ruby Lennox was at the meeting and noted Driscoll’s comments and a presentation by consultant Dan Watson of Watson and Associates clarified a number of issues. However, she said farmers are also concerned about other issues, including the impact of the charges on environmental farm projects. Driscoll pointed out projects such as manure pits and silos would be considered accessory structures, which would remain exempt from development charges. Lennox noted some farm
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buildings have life expectancies as low as 20 years and she wondered if farm owners “would have to pay development charges over and over again.” “If you demolish a 10,000 square foot building and rebuild at 10,000 square feet the redevelopment credit would equal the charge so it nets to zero,” Watson explained. However, he added, “if you expand beyond what was already there you would have to pay on the expanded amount.” Mapleton farmer Liz Samis said council should leave the exemption for bona fide farmers as it is, “a total exemption.” “I’ve been in agriculture in this township for over 37 years and I see how much we’ve contributed to the success of the township,” she stated. Samis said Mapleton is SEE DC CHARGE » 8
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