At the Regular Meeting of…

At the Regular Meeting of Council on October 10, 2019, the Council of the Municipality of West Elgin passed the following Resolution:

Resolution No. 2019-520
Moved: Councillor Rowe
Seconded: Deputy Mayor Leatham

Whereas The government of Ontario is consulting on proposed changes to the Provincial Policy Statement (PPS) to support the government’s Housing Supply Action Plan and other land use planning related priorities. This consultation period closes on October 21, 2019;

And Whereas The Provincial Policy Statement is a consolidated statement of the government’s policies on land use planning and is issued under section 3 of the Planning Act. The PPS applies province-wide and sets out the provincial policy direction for, among other things: The efficient use and management of land and infrastructure; Protecting public safety, the environment, and important resources including farmland;

And Whereas Municipalities are the primary implementers of the PPS through policies in their local official plans, zoning by-laws and other planning related decisions;

And Whereas The proposed draft policies would enhance agricultural protections to support critical food production and the agricultural sector as a significant economic driver;

And Whereas The proposed draft policies would direct large ground-mounted solar facilities away from prime agricultural and specialty crop areas, except for on-farm diversified uses;

And Whereas The Municipality of West Elgin is primarily an agriculture-based economy, and large grid-connected industrial wind turbine projects could also remove large portions of prime agricultural land from use, and are therefore not an appropriate use of prime agricultural land;

Therefore West Elgin Council supports the above policy statement with regard to large ground-mounted solar facilities; and recommends that PPS policies also include language to direct wind turbine facilities away from prime agricultural and specialty crops, except for on-farm diversified use.