[All] Surprise Christmas MZO in Wilmot Township

Fri Dec 31 12:30:26 EST 2021

HI everyone,
Happy New Year to all of you!
I have sent a personal email to the following Councillors, Pfenning, Gordijk and Hallman requesting that they support the staff’s recommendation to educate themselves on the MZO process. I also asked them to really consider the implications of supporting the request by Cachet Developments for an MZO on their lands.
I know that these three Councillors have been concerned with the pressure of development on agricultural lands and the water recharge areas.

I hope that others have been able to impress their concerns to the Council as well.

I hope to virtually attend the Jan. 4 Council meeting.

Yvonne Fernandes

Community Liaison Doon Pioneer Park Community Association

Former  City  of Kitchener Councillor Ward 4
2010-2018

Follow your dreams of a better world, and keep on trying, even when there seems to be little hope, because it is the right thing to do." Robert Alan

Sent from Mail<https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=550986> for Windows 10

From: Kevin Thomason<mailto:kevinthomason at mac.com>
Sent: December 30, 2021 12:14 AM
To: Grand River Environmental Network (GREN)<mailto:all at gren.ca>
Subject: Re: [All] Surprise Christmas MZO in Wilmot Township

GREN Folks,

The surprises continue in Wilmot Township regarding this Christmas Eve MZO as finally at 6:30pm tonight Wilmot released their Staff Report which is a staggering 158 pages in length (quite something to whip up over the holidays!).

It’s clear that despite Wilmot Councillors claims of knowing nothing about it, some people have been working on it for quite some time which makes the timing of the announcement on Christmas Eve, the lack of public information until tonight, the rushed January 4th Special Council Meeting, etc. even more concerning.

The report cites a staggering 1,200 residential homes for these two properties though a mixed-multiuse development and even somehow a transit hub in a new completely new town called Wilmot Village between Baden and New Hamburg.

As feared Wilmot Staff are supportive of the MZO and spend numerous pages of the Staff Report trying to justify the developments and the MZO as good planning.

While these might be interesting developments they need to be determined through proper planning processes and not crammed through in an MZO over the holidays such little time for public consultation, questions, and feedback.

I have attached PDF’s of the agenda and the Wilmot Staff Reports below.  There are numerous supporting files that can be found at the following link:

https://calendar.wilmot.ca/townshipcalendar/Detail/2022-01-04-1700-Special-Council-Meeting/80905f16-b383-49f1-b11f-ae0d016b0363

This MZO could have region-wide implications as it’s approval could unleash an avalanche of similar MZO requests from every developer and municipality looking to bypass the Regional Official Plan Review planning process currently underway for 2021 to 2051 and have Minister Clark approve any development they desire - regardless of the consequences or ultimate cost.

There is still the overarching question here of whether putting thousands of new homes on remote Wilmot prime farmland far from most jobs and the much of the Region is good planning or not - particularly in the face of our climate crisis where we know we must be more sustainable.  Let alone all the issues of leapfrog development, the absurd Christmas Eve MZO approach here, the very troubling timing, lack of information, sewage and water capacity in the Nith River watershed, proximity to a chemical fertilizer plant, etc.

The need for people to speak up, e-mail Wilmot Councillors, and Staff, and appear as delegations virtually on January 4th is more important than ever.  We need to ensure that MZO’s aren’t acceptable in our community and that we have integrated, co-ordinated and collaborative future planning across our Region.  Contact information and registration information is below.

Please let me know any questions or ideas.

Thanks,
Kevin.

-----------------------------------

1) Wilmot Special Council Meeting Agenda - January 4, 2022

2) Wilmot Partial Condensed Staff Report - Part 1

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On Dec 28, 2021, at 9:00 PM, Kevin Thomason <kevinthomason at mac.com<mailto:kevinthomason at mac.com>> wrote:

To GREN Members,

On Christmas Eve, the Township of Wilmot posted a notice for a Special Council Meeting planned for January 4th to support an MZO request in Wilmot Township.  There is shock and dismay in the community as the timing of this MZO is highly suspicious - being announced at the last minute late on Christmas Eve with the meeting scheduled first thing in the New Year when there is almost no ability to reach Staff to learn anything about the MZO request and no opportunity for local media coverage to inform the public either over the Christmas, Boxing Day and New Year’s Eve holidays while also in the midst of the most serious COVID-19 variant seen thus far in the ongoing pandemic.

We can learn almost nothing about this MZO other than it is for likely residential expansion beyond the current urban boundary and leapfrogs existing farms like Pfennig’s Organic farm.   There is no Staff report, no information on the Wilmot Township Website, or details seemingly available anywhere.

https://calendar.wilmot.ca//townshipcalendar/Detail/2022-01-04-1700-Special-Council-Meeting<https://calendar.wilmot.ca/townshipcalendar/Detail/2022-01-04-1700-Special-Council-Meeting>

It may also involve breaching the Countryside Line (according to the Regional Official Plan mapping from the Region of Waterloo website and attached below), has lead to the discovery that the Wilmot Official Plan may be illegal and not in conformity with the ROP, and would set an extremely dangerous precedent for developers to be able to circumvent what is supposed to be permanent farmland protection in Waterloo Region by requesting an MZO and using the provincial government to overturn local environmental and farmland protections.

We are unsure if there is any Council or Staff support for this application, if there have already been in-camera meetings, or if it is simply at the request of the land speculators.

Elsewhere in Ontario MZO requests have been defeated early by not receiving local Council support.  Minister Clark has at least been somewhat consistent that he won’t approve an MZO without strong local Council approval first and the Blair MZO fiasco in Cambridge should certainly make local Councils very weary of getting caught between developers and the province.  Wisely the Cambridge Council has issued a moratorium on all MZO considerations until a policy for MZO’s and public engagement is developed and approved which might be prudent for Wilmot Township to consider as well.

The public is increasingly outraged by the use of MZOs and in particular the timing here is extremely troubling - already this Wilmot situation is being cited elsewhere in the province as a perfect example of the bad planning the Premier is encouraging.  This is not how we plan a world-class community by announcing things over the holidays with an immediate meeting scheduled with no information publicly available and no time for any media coverage or ability to respond.

MZO’s not only bypass all public engagement and consultation but also bypass environmental assessments, proper planning, and override all local protections such as our Countryside Line, Protected Countryside, ESPA’s, PSW’s, etc.  It is shameful to see developers even trying to use MZO’s here in Waterloo Region when we are renown for good planning and lead the province with our SmartGrowth success.

Anyways, the outrage in the community is already significant and will likely grow as more people learn about this situation.  Frankly, it sure doesn’t look good and it’s situations like this that sink entire Councils and tarnish communities for decades as a banana republic where developers run wild - not the reputation Wilmot wants I'm sure.  It’s not surprising that citizens are so cynical of government when such important decisions shaping the future of our community for decades are being undertaken in a rushed, secretive manner in the middle of Christmas holidays such as this.

We need people to e-mail and phone Wilmot Staff and Councillors.  We also need people to appear as virtual delegations on Zoom at the Wilmot Township January 4th Special Meeting at 5:00pm (also an unusual time for a Council meeting).  We also need people to share this concerning news with others in the community since there is no local Wilmot media publishing over the holiday prior to the planned meeting.

The Wilmot Township Clerk can be reached at: clerks at wilmot.ca<mailto:clerks at wilmot.ca> or (519) 634-8444 x9228

Wilmot Township Planning Staff can be reached at:  harold.okrafka at wilmot.ca<mailto:harold.okrafka at wilmot.ca> or (519) 634-8519 x9236

New Wilmot Township CAO Sharon Chambers can be reached at:  sharon.chambers at wilmot.ca<mailto:sharon.chambers at wilmot.ca> or (519) 634-8519 x9237

The Wilmot Councillors can be reached at:

Les Armstrong - Mayor - les.armstrong at wilmot.ca<mailto:les.armstrong at wilmot.ca> or (519) 634-8519 x9231
Angie Hallman - Ward 1 - angie.hallman at wilmot.ca<mailto:angie.hallman at wilmot.ca> or (519) 998-3983
Cheryl Gordijk - Ward 2 - cheryl.gordijk at wilmot.ca<mailto:cheryl.gordijk at wilmot.ca> or (519) 998-8317
Barry Fisher - Ward 3 - barry.fisher at wilmot.ca<mailto:barry.fisher at wilmot.ca> or (519) 807-8597
Jeff Gerber - Ward 4 - jeff.gerber at wilmot.ca<mailto:jeff.gerber at wilmot.ca> or (519) 496-5769
Jennifer Pfenning - Ward 4 - jennifer.pfenning at wilmot.ca<mailto:jennifer.pfenning at wilmot.ca> or (519) 998-6029

Please share any questions or ideas.  I’m reachable via phone (519) 240-1648 or e-mail anytime.

Thank you,
Kevin.

——————————————————

1) Rough Map of Proposed MZO area in Wilmot Township

<Wilmot Proposed MZO Dec 24 2021.png>

2) Current Regional Official Plan maps downloaded from the Regional website clearly showing these properties as prime agricultural land and beyond the Countryside Line.

<Map_7-The_Countryside-access.pdf>

----------------------------

Kevin Thomason

1115 Cedar Grove Road
Waterloo, Ontario Canada  N2J 3Z4

Phone: (519) 888-0519
Mobile Phone/WhatsApp: (519) 240-1648
Twitter: @kthomason
E-mail: kevinthomason at mac.com<mailto:kevinthomason at mac.com>

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