Lake Erie North Shore Watershed Plan - Niagara Peninsula ...

More documents

Recommendations

Info

LAKE ERIE NORTH SHORE WATERSHED PLAN archaeological and architectural significance” (Section 4B1) by implementing policies that promote the preservation and maintenance of these unique features. Currently, the Township of Wainfleet is in the process of updating their Official Plan. Town of Fort Erie Approximately 10 percent of the Lake Erie North Shore watershed study area falls within the municipality of the Town of Fort Erie. The land use in this portion of the municipality is predominately agriculture and protected environmental area. The Council approved Draft Official Plan for the Town of Fort Erie (Town of Fort Erie 2009) outlines a number of goals and objectives in terms of future land use planning for Fort Erie. For the area of interest for this watershed plan, it is the intent of the Town of Fort Erie to preserve and protect its agricultural land from activities and land uses which could limit productivity, and prevent further fragmentation of agricultural lands by non-agricultural purposes and conservation of the rural landscape (Section 2.3.4). The Point Abino area has been designated as an Environmental Protection Area in the Draft Official Plan which will protect this unique area from further development due to restrictions on development and site alterations in such designated areas as outlined in the Official Plan (Section 8.2.I). The same restrictions apply to the Dune Protection Area which has been outlined in the Draft Official Plan; this will protect Point Abino‟s unique dune system from any new development (Section 8.2.4V). North of the Point Abino Environmental Protection area, the area is zoned rural. Numerous criteria must be met for a non-agricultural or related land use to be permitted in rural zoned areas. Some of the criteria include, but are not limited to; a minimum lot size of 0.4 hectares is required; natural drainage systems of surrounding agricultural lands shall not be interfered; and the development must be at a scale and density that is suitable for the physical characteristics of the site (Section 4.6.2). The majority of the lands within the Crystal Beach urban area that form part of this study are designated Urban Residential. This zone is intended to facilitate a number of housing forms and associated urban land uses and services [e.g. schools, public utilities, cemeteries (Section 4.7.4)]. Haldimand County: Single Tier The remaining 15 percent of the Lake Erie North Shore watershed study area falls within Haldimand County. The land use consists primarily of agriculture, recreation and seasonal residential, with some permanent dwellings. In consultation with the community, Haldimand County has also developed a series of strategic directions regarding the future of their municipality; Haldimand County Strategic Directions 2004. The strategic directions process is based on 6 core themes (e.g. environment, economy, growth management) that are used to outline the main components of the Official Plan. These core themes will assist in preparing policy direction for achieving various components of the Vision Statement that was developed through community involvement (Haldimand County 2004). Similar to other official plans, the Haldimand County Official Plan (Haldimand County Planning 2006) outlines various strategies for future development under the core themes developed through the Strategic Directions process as previously indicated. The Official 44
LAKE ERIE NORTH SHORE WATERSHED PLAN Plan also identifies the need to preserve and manage the County‟s natural environment features and that these principles should form the basis for future development and land use decisions. The Official Plan states that a “high quality environment will be achieved and retained as human health is linked to environmental health. The County will strive to preserve essential ecological functions and protect natural biological diversity and ecological integrity” (Section 2A.4). In order to accomplish this, the Official Plan outlines numerous policies with regard to for example, provincially significant wetlands, habitats of „species at risk‟, development, and other natural environments such as water resources. The Official Plan also recognizes that cooperation and communication with other agencies is necessary to accomplish these objectives. The Official Plan recognizes the importance of Haldimand‟s productive agricultural lands as the “prime economic basis for the rural community” and it is in the “County‟s interest to preserve that lifestyle and foster the agricultural industry” (Section A1). The Official Plan outlines various policies that are intended to preserve and protect the agricultural land base for agricultural purposes by for example, limiting land use activities to agricultural and related activities and for land uses that are compatible with agriculture. In addition, the policies “encourage the development of agricultural support services within urban areas and designated hamlets” (Section 3A.3). A study was conducted in 2004 titled North Shore Strategies: The Lakeshore Area Study (Haldimand County) with the purpose of providing the County with background information on the lakeshore area so informed decisions regarding policies for land use along the lakeshore could be formulated. A major concern identified in the study was the increase of housing conversions from seasonal to permanent that have been occurring over the past few years along the lakeshore, therefore a challenge of Haldimand County includes finding a balance between a sustainable and viable shoreline community while protecting the natural environment and preserving the lakeshore as an asset for residents and tourism. Accordingly, the Official Plan outlines numerous policies in regards to shoreline development as the County recognizes this area as an invaluable resource and the County “supports the preservation of the open nature of the lakeshore by limiting development to designated areas or nodes. Scenic roads, public vistas, and landscapes along the lakeshore will be identified and protected” (Section F6). Conservation Authorities It is the intent of the Province of Ontario in the PPS (MMAH 2005) to direct development “away from areas of natural or human-made hazards where there is an unacceptable risk to public health or safety or of property damage” (Section 3.0). Accordingly, along the Lake Erie shoreline, development is restricted within the shoreline hazard limit. This limit is defined as the “furthest landward extent of the aggregate of the flooding hazard limit plus the erosion hazard limit plus the dynamic beach hazard limit” (NPCA 2007b). These hazards are defined in the PPS (MMAH 2005) as follows: Flooding hazard limit (along Great Lakes shoreline): based on the 100 year flood level plus an allowance for wave uprush and other water-related hazards. Wave uprush means the rush of water up onto a shoreline or structure following the breaking of a wave; the limit of wave uprush is the point of furthest landward rush of water onto the shoreline. 45
Page 1 and 2: LAKE ERIE NORTH SHORE WATERSHED PLA
Page 43: LAKE ERIE NORTH SHORE WATERSHED PLA
Page 95 and 96:
LAKE ERIE NORTH SHORE WATERSHED PLA
Page 97 and 98:
Page 99 and 100:
Page 101 and 102:
Page 103 and 104:
Page 105 and 106:
Page 107 and 108:
Page 109 and 110:
Page 111 and 112:
Page 113 and 114:
Page 115 and 116:
Page 117 and 118:
Page 119 and 120:
Page 121 and 122:
Page 123 and 124:
Page 125 and 126:
Page 127 and 128:
Page 129 and 130:
Page 131 and 132:
Page 133 and 134:
Page 135 and 136:
Page 137 and 138:
Page 139 and 140:
Page 141 and 142:
Page 143 and 144:
Page 145 and 146:
Page 147 and 148:
Page 149 and 150:
Page 151 and 152:
Page 153 and 154:
Page 155 and 156:
Page 157 and 158:
Page 159 and 160:
Page 161 and 162:
Page 163 and 164:
Page 165 and 166:
Page 167 and 168:
Page 169 and 170:
Page 171 and 172:
Page 173 and 174:
Page 175 and 176:
Page 177 and 178:
Page 179 and 180:
Page 181 and 182:
Page 183 and 184:
Page 185 and 186:
Page 187 and 188:
Page 189 and 190:
Page 191 and 192:
Page 193 and 194:
Page 195 and 196:
Page 197 and 198:
Page 199 and 200:
Page 201 and 202:
Page 203 and 204:
Page 205 and 206:
Page 207 and 208:
Page 209 and 210:
Page 211 and 212:
Page 213 and 214:
Page 215 and 216:
Page 217 and 218:
Page 219 and 220:
Page 221 and 222:
Page 223 and 224:
Page 225 and 226:
Page 227 and 228:
Page 229 and 230:
Page 231 and 232:
Page 233 and 234:
Page 235 and 236:
Page 237 and 238:
Page 239 and 240:
Page 241 and 242:
Page 243 and 244:
Page 245 and 246:
Page 247 and 248:
Page 249 and 250:
Page 251 and 252:
Page 253 and 254:
Page 255 and 256:
Page 257 and 258:
Page 259 and 260:
Page 261 and 262:
Page 263 and 264:
Page 265 and 266:
Page 267 and 268:
Page 269 and 270:
Page 271 and 272:
Page 273 and 274:
DRAFT LAKE ERIE NORTH SHORE WATERSH
Page 275 and 276:
Page 277 and 278:
Page 279 and 280:
Page 281 and 282:
Page 283 and 284:
Page 285 and 286:
Page 287 and 288:
Page 289 and 290:
Page 291 and 292:
Page 293 and 294:
Page 295 and 296:
Page 297 and 298:
Page 299 and 300:
Page 301 and 302:
Page 303:
show all

Lake Erie North Shore Watershed Plan - Niagara Peninsula ...

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?