Confusion over Minimum Distance Separation provisions in the township’s new comprehensive zoning bylaw continue, with no resolution coming out of an in-camera discussion on the issue on Nov. 13.
Several local landowners have put plans for their property on hold as council attempts to determine whether building permits can be issued for several small lots on County Road 10 near Moorefield.
In July of 2010 Mapleton council passed a new comprehensive zoning bylaw that waives Minimum Distance Separation (MDS) requirements for existing lots that are less than 9.9 acres. However, the bylaw did not come into effect until June 2012 due to an OMB appeal of the bylaw on an unrelated matter.
Alwyn and Lori Woodham have attended several recent council meetings to express concerns over the exemption, due to the potential impact on their farming operation on County Road 10. Several small lots, created in the 1970s, exist near the couple’s farm. Because the lots are within the MDS1 radius, building could not be permitted without a specific waiver.
However, the Woodhams are concerned the change to the comprehensive zoning bylaw will allow the lots to be built on, effectively restricting future expansion on their farm.
Between the spring of 2011 and August of 2012, several of the lots owned by Tony and Mary Ann Giesen were sold to new owners. The new owners contend township staff advised them building permits could be issued for the lots as long as they were consolidated into single parcels of at least an acre. However last month, the township denied a building permit to one of the new owners based on the position the consolidated lots were not “existing lots” as of the passage of the bylaw and therefore not covered by the MDS1 exemption.
Following an in-camera session with the township’s solicitor on Oct. 23, Mayor Bruce Whale said more time was needed to arrive at a solution. Council held another closed session following the Nov. 13 meeting to receive legal advice but CAO Patty Sinnamon said there was nothing new to report.
