2.2 Housing The…

2.2 Housing
The responsibility of communal systems should be the responsibility of the planning approval authority. In two tier systems, the upper tier should be responsible.

Rural consents on agricultural lots should be limited to a maximum of one not three.
Multi-aquifer penetrating wells must be cased adequately to limit contamination into the deep aquifer for all newly created lots.

Generally, newly created lots are approximately a minimum of 0.4 hectares in order to accommodate servicing, a maximum lot size should be considered in order to limit the potential for subdividing the newly created lot in the future to protect the integrity of agricultural operations. The amount of newly created lots and additional accessory units on subdivide lots as a cumulative total as proposed is a concern. This potential scenario of clustered residential uses creates concern in regards to established livestock facilities and their ability to expand.

3.5 Land Use Compatibility
I disagree that sensitive areas (residential areas) should encroach at all on industrial areas.

4.3.5 Non-Agricultural Uses in Prime Agricultural Areas
The Draft policy 4.3.5.2 requiring an agricultural impact assessment should be mandatory regardless of the circumstances.

4.5.2 Protection of Long-Term Resource Supply
“Demonstration of need for mineral aggregate resources, including any type of supply/demand analysis, shall not be required, notwithstanding the availability, designation or licensing for extraction of mineral aggregate resources locally or elsewhere.”
This statement should not be included until such time that the Province completes a comprehensive study of supply of aggregate in order to determine how much aggregate is currently licensed and therefore subsequently required.

The minor changes to the existing term “agricultural condition” raise a concern about what the added term “enhanced” means as it relates to the rehabilitation of agricultural soil. The direction of “maintained” or “restored” seem to indicate that the pre-extraction soil conditions will be brought back once rehabilitated, but “enhanced” is an added term which could have a much broader meaning. Clarification on the meaning of this term is necessary.

2.8.2 Employment Areas
Employment areas should include commercial and institutional in order to support the concept of complete communities and areas that support the community’s local employment and economic development.

The Government must give municipalities sufficient time to understand and implement the final Provincial Planning Statement before introducing more planning policy and regulatory changes. Confusion leads to chaos.