PUSLINCH – Puslinch council are not supporting a provincial proposal to expand the Greenbelt further into the township but have prepared a list of considerations if the province does.
At Wednesday’s Puslinch council meeting, County of Wellington director of planning Aldo Salis presented a report with comments on the proposal by planning staff.
The main ecological feature being focused on is the Paris Galt Moraine which runs through Puslinch.
In the context of Puslinch, the study area encompasses 37,000 acres of township land including farmland, small settlements and larger communities like Aberfoyle.
The county report concludes there is no rationale for expanding the Greenbelt and doing so would impact the stability of rural communities like Puslinch.
For example hamlets in the Greenbelt are not permitted to expand which councillor Jessica Goyda said backs Puslinch “into a corner in terms of any type of growth.”
Salis said the county has historically recognized the importance of protecting the Paris Galt Moraine but the area is already protected through numerous policies and legislation.
Long-time councillor Matthew Bulmer noted he’s been on both sides of this issue as he was previously very proud to pull the township into the Greenbelt years ago.
He acknowledged there is a lot more protection from the county and provincial legislation for the Paris Galt Moraine and other natural heritage features.
Councillor John Sepulis was blunt in his opposition saying he didn’t want to compromise the town’s ability to sustain itself.
Mayor James Seeley agreed, but wanted to lay out conditions if the province was to move ahead with the expansion.
After a long deliberation on what to include, Puslinch council agreed on a motion requesting the province to not consider expansion of the Greenbelt into the township unless certain conditions are addressed.
This included:
- Land adjacent to current and future provincial highways be designated as future development
- Secondary units be permitted
- Settlements and hamlets are allowed to round out their boundaries
- Municipal Comprehensive Review process be completed prior to a proposed expansion
- Natural heritage system mapping be refined prior to expansion
- Below water table aggregate extraction be prohibited in these areas
- Property tax support programs for lands impacted by the Greenbelt expansion be fully funded
- Township compensation for the potential loss of growth
The motion passed unanimously and will be forwarded to various provincial ministers and the County of Wellington.
