After reviewing the proposed…

ERO number

019-6813

Comment ID

84713

Commenting on behalf of

Individual

Comment status

Comment approved More about comment statuses

Comment

After reviewing the proposed document for ERO-019-6813 we implore you to rethink the prime ag designation on our rural farm property.
We have a farm in halton in greenbelt and rural NEC. . Our farm is small 46 acres with half in Forest NHS and 23 acres clear. Before this proposal our farm designation is Rural land . Then ROPA 38 proposed us to agricultural system outside of Prime agricultural Areas.
Now with this ERO 019-6813 you have had OMAFRA proposal put us in Prime agriculture based on a LEAR study which is extremely restrictive for a small farm. We now on 1 small street have 2 designations on our street. Prime and rural land which is totally inaccurate as we all have the same soil.
You propose in this document that we can severe off 2 or 3 lots meeting certain critera which is excellent. we are the perfect location for that. We definitely would participate in that but no we can not due to being in greenbelt and NEC. If this goes through with no changes to this prime agriculture mapping that OMAFRA has come up with then our life savings into this property goes down the drain. OMAFRAs map for our property is wrong as they have made the entire area around us 1 soil classification SOIL_CMPLX:1 . The region and city maps of burlington have never put us in as prime Ag. Anyone who will ever want to purchase a farm will never buy this farm as it is too expensive and too small to earn enough farm income. If this goes through it will destroy our retirement plan for my family, children and grandchildren. With Halton conservation and halton region setting setbacks of 120 metres from trees and wetlands , the PC government will also destroy all possibilities for this property as we can not participate in any benefits that Prime Ag designation would bring due to where we are located. I went on to OMAFRA maps and it says there is no changing this designation once this goes through. If this proposal is to build more homes this is further from the truth. We can not severe lots here in greenbelt NEC lands. We can not have additional residential units like you are saying we can. It is still to be determined if we can even have OFDUs. You are lumping this small farm with farms with big parcels of land, that do not already have all these land restrictions already in their municipality. You are putting my property and the others in halton that were not prime ag before this proposal straight into the hands of conservation and parkland forever. You are helping conservation EXPROPRIATE our land so that we can not do anything with it if it can no longer be farmed. This proposal reduces the value of our hard earned money between 1 and 2 million dollars. If i was prime ag and knew i could severe off 2 lots as proposed as we are off the main road then there could be some concession but we can not build 2 extra homes for the children and grandparents. I met for an hour this morning with the senior planner for our city and we went over all the maps that are not being shown online in this proposal. I am knowledgeable but all the other farm businesses in Halton have no idea what this will mean for their farm business. Please I implore you to change or omit us from OMAFRA prime ag maps. My family needs us to remain as we have always been, a RURAL property whose owners decided to make a small farm on it. If you continue on with this then you knowingly are expropriating my business, our land and not accomplishing additional homes like you are proposing. This is not a thought out plan and you are being advised by OMAFRA and not actual farmers.
If OMAFRA is so determined to designate PRIME AG farms then make a acreage requirement for farms above a certain size i.e 75 acres and omit farms in NEC that already have huge restrictions on them.
WE have spoken to other farm businesses in the area that have said the same. And we farmers and business owners have traditionally been die hard PC supporters.