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Mineral Resource Extraction
1.
Mineral
Resource Extraction
One of the primary issues leading to passage of the
Niagara Escarpment Plan,
mineral resource (aggregate) extraction, remains a significant pressure
point.
The aggregate industry promotes the high quality
of material and the proximity to markets of the Escarpment's mineral
resources. The conservation community generally believes that all
aggregate extraction in the Plan Area should be restricted or prohibited,
including the phasing out of existing operations.
Aggregate operations are permitted in areas designated
for mineral resource extraction subject to development criteria.
Development objectives allow for the consideration of amendments
to the Plan to permit new extraction areas. However, new applications
for mineral extraction are often subject to controversy and public
debate.
The demand for new residential lots is high along
the entire Escarpment, for both permanent dwellings and vacation
properties.
The prospect of obtaining approval
for a new building lot is attractive to some farmers wishing to
retire or take advantage of economic opportunities. The demand for
such lots comes primarily from urban dwellers seeking quiet, open
space and a clean, natural environment.
Housing projects ("subdivisions") are not permitted
in the rural area and the number of new lots that can be created
in Escarpment areas designated as "Natural," "Protection" and "Rural"
are very limited.
New lots are created by land division committees of
municipal governments. As a result of Plan policies, the Niagara
Escarpment Commission may object to these proposed new residential
lots when these would exceed the lot density provisions of the Plan.
New development, including new lot creation, must conform to Niagara
Escarpment Plan policies.
A point will come within the years to come when the
Plan Area is entirely "built out" or "severed out" -- that is, a
point when all permitted lots will have been created. The Plan provides
that new development be directed for the most part to urban and
minor urban areas.
Controversy is inherent in the situation where the
lot creation restrictions in the Plan Area are significantly tighter
than those imposed by a local municipality immediately adjacent
to the Plan Area. Land values on the Escarpment remain high, sometimes
higher than areas outside. Land purchasers continue to seek a clean
and protected environment, and appear willing to pay extra for it.
The Plan contains a provision for a full-time, bona
fide farmer (defined in the Plan) to obtain a farm retirement lot,
as long as the permitted lot density in the area would not be exceeded.
With many farmers seeking off-farm employment in difficult economic
times, some do not meet the definition to qualify for this lot.
For those who do qualify, many proceed to build a
retirement home on the lot so that a family member can take over
the farm operation. However, the farmer can also sell the retirement
lot to a non-farm resident as a source of income.
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There is significant pressure to expand urban boundaries
into the rural portions of the Niagara Escarpment Plan Area, especially
in the southern section, which constitutes the heavily populated
"Golden Horseshoe" at the west end of Lake Ontario. As well, there
is pressure throughout the Escarpment area for tourism business
and vacation property development.
The Niagara Escarpment Plan explicitly states that
residential, commercial, industrial and tourism development be directed
to Urban Areas, Minor Urban Centres and Escarpment Recreation Areas.
Also, subdivision-style housing projects in the Escarpment Rural
Area were prohibited by the revised 1994 Plan, further confining
development to existing, built-up areas.
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As urban dwellers migrate to the Niagara Escarpment
countryside in increasing numbers, a clash of values often occurs
with those whose families have lived there for generations.
Ex-urbanites often continue to work in the cities,
commuting long distances daily. They are sometimes criticized by
the long-established local population for treating the Escarpment
as their "weekend playground" and pushing for further protection
against new development.
In doing so, they may be viewed as insensitive to
the economic imperatives facing farmers and others dependent on
the rural economy.
These kinds of pressures are felt throughout southern
Ontario, but are particularly intense along the Escarpment, where
there is a provincially recognized resource that has garnered special
attention and protection.
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