Dufferin County hits snag in eco-energy park plans
Monday May 12 2008
Dufferin has hit an obstacle in its plans to create an eco-energy park in the west end of the community.
The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing (MMAH) will not allow the county to rezone the property for the project in East Luther Grand Valley to employment lands.
During the May 8 council meeting, councillors discussed hiring a planner and lawyer to present their case to the ministry.
“It’s just so truly bizarre,” said Coun. Ed Crewson when Coun. David Baldwin asked him why he seemed so deflated.
“We have a provisional certificate of approval for a landfill site on the property and now the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing is saying we can’t have employment lands there. So, we’ve got to hire a hitman to go down and make our point. It just seems like such a waste of time,” Crewson said.
The employment land designation is necessary for the “industrial park” portion of the site. The composting facility and energy-from-waste facility would be allowed under the current zoning of the property.
The industrial park is to allow some users of the energy and waste heat created on the site.
“…(I)t would make more sense to make use of the waste heat on an adjacent lot, rather than waste it to the atmosphere then utilize some other form of energy to create heat elsewhere,” stated director of public works Trevor Lewis in a report to council.
Coun. Allen Taylor, who has tried to use his contacts at the Association of Municipalities to appeal to the ministry, said the ministry’s logic is flawed.
“The problem is the MMAH wants employment zones in the villages but they don’t want the garbage in the villages — they want it in the countryside. We will have to show them they can’t have it both ways.”
The county will hire a planner and a lawyer to appeal to the ministry; the cost could be upwards of $12,000.
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