Comments regarding: ERO…

Comments regarding:
ERO Number 013-4992
“Focusing conservation authority development permits on the protection of people and property”

St. Marys Golf & Country Club
St. Marys, ON

Thank you for the opportunity to provide comment on the proposed changes to the Conservation Authorities Act. St. Marys Golf & Country Club (SMGCC) is fully in support of proposed changes that will focus conservation authorities on their core mandate of protection of people and property, including as it relates to issuance of development permits.

As background, SMGCC is located within the Town of St. Marys and the Township of Perth South, along Trout Creek, downstream of Wildwood Dam and Reservoir. Wildwood is operated by Upper Thames River Conservation Authority (UTRCA) with a dual mandate of flood prevention and flow augmentation. Our business, our employees and our suppliers rely on UTRCA to successfully achieve both goals – flood prevention, to prevent income losses and physical damage; flow augmentation to ensure sufficient water for irrigation. Sadly, for the 25-year period ending in 2015, UTRCA reported a flood prevention success rate of only 65%, and it has recently gotten worse. Where typically we would be flooded every few years during an extreme weather event, flooding now occurs yearly, and often multiple times per year, with normally expected weather. Our engineering study showed that a success rate of greater than 99% was achievable with small modifications to their operating strategy. Surprisingly, those suggestions to ensure core mandate success were rejected because they would impinge on non-mandate goals. We see this same issue in other aspects of UTRCA services, including the issuance of development permits.

We strongly support the government’s Open for Business philosophy and are encouraged that proposed changes to the Conservation Authorities Act will move conservation authorities in that direction. To often we observe that our local waterways are viewed by UTRCA as absolute barriers to development. Creativity is dismissed and common sense is ignored. Our own development permit experience has been that even when we could prove that UTRCA was factually wrong, they were unwilling to change their assessment. Contrast that with European cities where waterways have been a fact of life for centuries and are embraced as assets and celebrated as a part of the city. We offer the following specific comments for the government’s consideration:

• Conservation authorities should be required to develop policies governing development permitting decisions that are clear, documented, available to the public and most importantly, recognize that ensuring public safety and fostering growth and development are not mutually exclusive.

• Conservation authorities should be required to establish, justify, and report on delivery standards for both the development permitting process and for all core programs and services they provide.

• Conservation authorities should be required to establish an independent process for appeal of their decisions. Often used internal committees usually perpetuate the initial problem.
Finally, as a small business operating in St. Marys, and as residents of the Town, we fully support the Town of St. Marys’ submission on this topic. Overly conservative decisions and interpretations by UTRCA have negatively impacted development and growth in St. Marys, hurting all residents and businesses, and appear to be directly contradictory to the government’s Open for Business philosophy. The Town’s suggestions on where the government can further improve the process are worthy of consideration.

Again, we appreciate the opportunity to provide input and look forward to the constructive changes.