Central Welland River Watershed Plan - Niagara Peninsula ...

CENTRAL WELLAND RIVER WATERSHED PLANan amendment to the Official Plan and Zoning By-law. In addition, the applicationrequires a number of studies that address the impact of the extraction operation on anumber of aspects such as, for example, nearby communities; cultural and naturalheritage features and functions; groundwater and surface water features; and significantgeological features (Section B2.5.3.3).According to Regional Niagara growth projections, it is anticipated that the Town ofPelham will grow by approximately 7300 people in the next 20 years, [(Section A1)Meridian Planning Consultants Inc. 2010]. The goal of the Official Plan is to encourageintensification of the forecasted growth to the current urban areas where full servicing(water and sewer) already exists; Fenwick and Fonthill. Strategies to achieve this goalinclude for example, prioritizing residential applications for existing urban areas;provision of a range of housing types to accommodate a broad range of income levels;and reinforce the function of downtown as the primary business, entertainment andcommercial focal point (Section A2.2.2).Township of WainfleetThe remaining 15 percent of the Central Welland River watershed falls within themunicipal boundary of the Township of Wainfleet. Land use in this portion of the studyarea is a mix of rural, agriculture and natural areas.It is the intent of the Draft Township of Wainfleet Official Plan [Sorensen Gravely LowesPlanning Associates Inc. 2010] to “properly manage growth of the municipality over thelong term” by providing strategic policies that outline “the fundamental principles of theTownship [to] help guide decisions on future land use changes” (Section 2.0).It is the intent of the Draft Official Plan to preserve Rural and Agricultural Areas foragriculture and agriculture-related uses and rural uses that support the rural community.The Draft Official Plan outlines numerous policies with the goal of preserving primeagricultural land for a wide variety of agricultural uses; promoting, protecting andmaintaining the farming industry for future generations; and avoiding land use conflictsbetween agricultural and non-agricultural uses (Section 3.1). Policies include forexample, restrictions on development, land uses and secondary land uses (Section3.1.1)In terms of natural features, it is the intent of the Draft Official Plan to “ensureenvironmental implications of land use decisions be considered throughout the Townshipof Wainfleet to achieve a sustainable and healthy landscape” (Section 4.1). Generalpolicies include for example, applying an “eco-system based approach to planning anddecision-making” (Section 4.1.1); and in terms of development, “First priority is to begiven to avoiding negative environmental impacts” (Section 4.1.2).Conservation AuthoritiesConservation Authorities are the governing body responsible for hazard lands in Ontario.Hazardous land, as defined in the Conservation Authorities Act [Section 28 (25)], is “landthat could be unsafe for development because of naturally occurring processesassociated with flooding, erosion, dynamic beaches or unstable soil or bedrock”.Accordingly, under the Planning Act (MMAH 1990), the Niagara Peninsula ConservationAuthority is delegated provincial responsibility for reviewing natural hazard lands forrespective municipalities on any proposed development within the NPCA jurisdiction. In35