[0:14] Yeah. Okay.
[0:37] respectfully we acknowledge the land on
which the town of Bonfield is located.
[0:43] We pay our respects to the Alangquin
people who are the tra traditional
[0:48] custodians of this
planet, its natural resources and the
[0:53] surrounding local watersheds of the
Ottawa and Ottawa
[0:58] rivers. We acknowledge the Albangquin's
longstanding relationship with this
[1:06] territory which remains unseated.
We acknowledge the traditional knowledge
[1:12] keepers of this land, culture and
language. We are also
[1:18] respectfully acknowledge the presence of
all indigenous peoples past and present
[1:25] as we commit to action,
education, meaningful dialogue, and
[1:30] necessary change.
[1:48] I recognize
[2:37] I will turn it over to Mayor.
[2:43] I'd like to welcome everybody here
tonight. It's very um good to see how
[2:48] many people have come out and how many
people are interested in our community.
[2:54] Hopefully tonight that uh you'll get
some answers and uh we have quite a long
[3:01] agenda. So I'll move
on. So next we have I'm going to uh
[3:09] introduce Councelor Corbett, our deputy
mayor. He um he's going to sleep on the
[3:16] municipal
achievements and message about our
[3:20] community.
[3:43] Good evening everyone. Thank you for
your worship and on behalf of the mayor
[3:47] and my fellow counselors, thank you for
joining us tonight for our second town
[3:51] hall meeting in this term of council.
Can everybody hear me? Okay. Check
[3:55] before
[4:03] [Music]
we don't think I can see my notes
[4:07] anymore. Just my page. I did my best.
[4:12] So, it's great to see so many people
here tonight. For the next few minutes,
[4:15] I'll be providing an update on some of
the investments that bond taxpayers have
[4:19] made, share some of the successes we
have had over the last year, and provide
[4:23] some context for a few of the topics we
are
[4:27] discussing. During the election and for
the last two years, we have heard from
[4:32] many constituents who have shared their
perspectives and thoughts on how this
[4:35] municipality should move forward.
[4:40] As examples, we have heard that the
municipality needs to be cleaned up and
[4:44] that we need to increase community
pride. And we have heard that bylaws
[4:48] should be enforced consistently and
equitably for everyone. But we have also
[4:52] heard that because we live in a small
northern community that the municipality
[4:56] should leave people alone and that the
people in Blondfield should be able to
[4:59] do whatever they want in their property.
We've heard that it's taken too long to
[5:04] get things done, but we've also heard
that we're making changes too fast.
[5:09] Another theme we've heard is that the
township roads are in terrible shape and
[5:13] the community infrastructure is falling
apart and it needs to be fixed. But
[5:17] we've also heard that the township
should lower taxes and that there should
[5:20] be no user fees or permit fees. We've
heard that people want municipality to
[5:25] run more like the business and people
want a return on investment for their
[5:29] tax dollars. The next few slides will
demonstrate how this the investments
[5:33] that we have made are done so
considering both return on investment
[5:38] and by weighing the staggering
infrastructure deficit we face as a
[5:42] municipality. In fact, did you know that
our municipality has an immediate
[5:46] infrastructure deficit of $5 million and
we only have a reserve savings of $1
[5:50] million? A strategic decision has been
made to invest in our public works
[5:54] department so that we can accomplish
more inhouse as opposed to contracting a
[5:59] This decision allows for more work to be
completed each year at a cheaper rate
[6:03] than contracting out those
[Music]
[6:11] services. As an example, in the past,
the used to rent an excavator to perform
[6:16] work that needed to be done. Did you
know that in 2023, the town of Rwanda
[6:21] rented an excavator at a cost of
$1,950 per week to perform ditching
[6:26] work? It took seven weeks of rental
costs to ditch Pine Lake Road. Then the
[6:31] equipment needed to be returned. This
was not only a very costly run time per
[6:35] hour, it was also restrictive in the
amount of work that could be completed
[6:39] due to only having the equipment for a
few short weeks. In May 2024, the
[6:43] taxpayers purchased an excavator for
$271,000. This investment allows the
[6:48] municipality to complete significantly
more work each year by creating a
[6:52] multi-year public works operational
plan. The municipality also purchased
[6:56] tobacco for
$167,000. The return on investment or
[7:00] the business case was easy to make given
that the old equipment was at the end of
[7:04] its life cycle and was costing a
significant amount of money in repairs
[7:08] each year. We also knew that in order
for these investments to be strategic
[7:12] that we wanted to support staff to
receive proper training to ensure
[7:15] efficient and safe use of the equipment.
And we also knew that we had to ensure
[7:19] that there is a rigorous maintenance
schedule being followed to help get the
[7:23] full life expectancy from the
equipment. As you can see in this slide,
[7:29] the public works department has used the
new equipment to perform multiple
[7:32] ditching projects last year and there's
more to come in 2025.
[7:39] So this is brushing work before and
after in uh on line three. I know it's a
[7:44] bit hard to see because the slides not
huge with the projector, but you can on
[7:49] the left not see the hydropoles and on
the right you can see the hydroples. So
[7:53] did you know that in 2023 the
municipalities spend just over $20,000
[7:58] to have an outside contractor perform
brushing. The new equipment has also
[8:02] allowed us to invest in a few
attachments such as a brushing which
[8:05] cost $47,000 a return on investment in
less than 2.5
[8:11] years. Here's the list of programs that
the public works department completed
[8:15] during the 2024 and again much more to
come in 2025 and beyond.
[8:30] The municipality spent nearly $7,000
every year to have an outside contractor
[8:35] sweep the road to sand every spring. The
municipality invested in a new sweeper
[8:40] attachment at the cost of
$18,500, a return on investment in less
[8:44] than 2.5 years.
Did you know that from July 2023 until
[8:51] July 2024, the landfield recorded a
total of
[8:54] $35,67 bags of garbage, excluding
trailer loads and free yard cleanup
[9:00] days. The municipality purchased a used
compactor for $30,000 to help manage
[9:04] waste and significantly extend the life
of our land, which is a big asset that
[9:09] our municipality may never be able to
[9:14] replace. The municipality has begun to
invest in fixing our roads. Did you know
[9:19] that all five plers of line three south
[9:24] rece five plumbers of line three south
received 4 in of gravel last summer and
[9:29] Maple Road also received new gravel?
Additionally, 6 km of development road
[9:34] was pulverized allowing couple works to
grade and apply calcium to to control
[9:38] dust.
Did you know that we owned an ice
[9:44] resurfacer for our outdoor rink that had
not been used in many years? Thanks to
[9:49] the public works department for fixing
the ice service inhouse and providing
[9:52] some great ice for everyone to enjoy
this year and many to come. These
[9:57] investments and equipment not only
provide financial savings over time, but
[10:01] the impact is immediate with the
increased capacity for improvement in
[10:04] our municipality. When I drive around
our municipality, I can honestly say
[10:08] that I'm proud of the work a public
public works crew have completed. They
[10:12] are stepping up in a big way. They have
welldeserved pride in the work and it
[10:18] shows. This council was elected to make
progress on behalf of the residents of
[10:22] Bont. And while it's clear that change
can feel overwhelming, they recognize
[10:26] the tremendous amount of work that needs
to be done just to catch up with current
[10:30] standards. In fact, there is gaps that
we must address. Bond is going if Bond
[10:37] is going to grow in a way that meets the
needs today and positions us for success
[10:41] tomorrow. As a few examples, did you
know the fire establishing bylaw is 30
[10:46] years old and does not current does not
meet current standards or that the user
[10:51] fees have been reviewed have not been
reviewed in over 15 years leading to
[10:56] unfair distribution of taxes? Did you
know that it's been 22 years since the
[11:01] last strategic plan was done for
Bonfield? Or that there have been no key
[11:05] performance indicators developed to
measure success or to ensure that
[11:09] taxpayers are getting value for their
money. These are not issues exclusive to
[11:13] southern Ontario. These are real
challenges here in Bonit and we take our
[11:17] responsibility seriously. We are working
hard to ensure that Bont is not just
[11:22] keeping up but is in a strong position
for the future. We owe it to our
[11:26] residents to bring things up to date, to
create systems that work, and to ensure
[11:29] that our community
thrives. In line with this, we we've
[11:34] taken steps to ensure that the new by
clear and applicable. We want to clarify
[11:39] specific guidelines for property owners
and to make sure that there is
[11:42] transparent and open communication
channels for addressing concerns. We
[11:46] understand that implementing these
changes can seem daunting. So, we are
[11:50] providing reasonable time frames for
compliance while keeping fairness and
[11:53] integrity of the regulations intact.
Tonight, we'll be talking about some of
[11:58] our new potential bylaws. These bylaws
address various items including time
[12:02] camps, shipping containers as storage
units, trailers on vacant properties,
[12:07] and short-term rentals.
[12:12] to ensure that we all have the same
context when discussing some of the
[12:15] bylaws this evening. Did you know that
hunt camps are not currently permitted
[12:18] within Bonfield? The proposed new bylaw
we discussing tonight will allow them.
[12:24] Did you know that shipping containers
for storage on your property is
[12:27] currently not permitted within Bonfield?
The proposed new bywall we are
[12:30] discussing tonight will allow them. Did
you know that additional dwelling units
[12:35] will expand the number of additional
dwellings you can have on your property
[12:38] and that secondary dwelling units will
go unchanged for the ROS zones? Did you
[12:44] know that RVs are currently not
permitted on vacant property anywhere in
[12:48] the municipality? The draft bylaw we are
discussing tonight will allow trailers
[12:52] on vacant property within parts of our
community.
[12:57] For those of you who who say that we are
moving too fast, here's the timeline for
[13:01] trailer and short-term rental by public
consultation started in April of 2023.
[13:07] We are now in March of 2025. After two
years of working on these bylaws, we are
[13:12] finally nearing the finish line. There
have been quite a few meetings, surveys,
[13:17] and consultations which can all be found
on the municipalities website.
[13:23] What we've heard throughout the process
is there are many views on how council
[13:26] should proceed. We have heard that
council shouldn't allow any short-term
[13:30] rentals in Montfield. We've also heard
that council shouldn't restrict
[13:33] short-term rentals in Bfield at all.
Council shouldn't restrict what I can do
[13:38] on my property. The renters next door
are ruining my ability to enjoy my
[13:42] property. Short-term rentals take away
from long-term housing stock in
[13:46] Minnesota and where short-term rentals
are great for tourism and need to be
[13:50] encouraged.
[13:56] We have heard from all sides and the
proposed short-term b short-term rental
[14:00] bylaw is rooted in allowing the
opportunity for people to visit and stay
[14:03] in our beautiful community while
ensuring safety and accountability by
[14:08] protecting guests by enforcing safety
standards such as fire codes and health
[14:12] regulations and holding hosts
accountable for providing safe and
[14:16] legitimate rental experiences. This
bylaw will also help housing
[14:20] affordability issues by bal by balancing
the number of short-term rentals in our
[14:24] community so not to negatively impact
the availability of long-term rental
[14:28] properties or homes or homes to
purchase. And we all know that a
[14:33] shortage of housing stock drives up
rental prices or home ownership prices.
[14:37] Additionally, this bio will help
maintain community integrity by setting
[14:41] clear rules that will decrease
overcrowding, noise, and disturbance in
[14:46] residential neighborhoods and help and
help them to maintain the balance
[14:50] between tourism and quality of life for
local
[14:54] residents. We have also
[14:58] heard we have also heard from all sides
on allowing trailers of vacant property.
[15:04] We have heard council shouldn't allow
any trailers in bondfield and needs to
[15:07] be enforced and we need to enforce the
existing B. Council shouldn't restrict
[15:11] trailers in bondfield at all. Council
shouldn't restrict what I can place on
[15:15] my property. The trailer next door is
ruining my ability to enjoy my property.
[15:20] Trailers take away from housing
development in our new trailers are
[15:24] ruining our lakefront and our lakes. I
should be allowed to have a trailer
[15:28] while I build my house.
[15:32] We have heard all of the sides and the
trailer on vacant property issue. The
[15:38] proposed bylaw will loosen the
restrictions. As I stated early earlier,
[15:43] currently trailers are not allowed on
any vacant property throughout the
[15:46] municipalities. Trailers will be
permitted in rural areas with conditions
[15:50] to protect the environment and to
maintain the character of the
[15:53] neighborhoods. This new bylaw will
maintain that trailers are not permitted
[15:57] within the hamlets or on the lakefront
properties to ensure those lost are
[16:01] ready for appropriate
[16:05] development. Our goal is not to stifle
progress. It's about ensuring that
[16:09] growth is sustainable and that it
respects the needs of the entire
[16:13] community. We recognize that change can
be uncomfortable, but it's necessary to
[16:17] find a balance between individual
freedoms and the collective well-being.
[16:21] It's about finding a middle ground that
works for everyone where fairness is at
[16:25] the heart of the process. We are
committed to listening to many voices
[16:29] within our community, adapting where we
can and ensuring that everyone is
[16:33] treated fairly and with respect. This
includes the loud and boisterous voices
[16:38] and the quiet more reserved voices as
they all deserve equal weight. In this
[16:42] respect, we are also equally committed
to ensuring that the rules that
[16:47] we that the rules are complied with to
provide with a secure and prosperous
[16:52] future. Thank you very much. I'll now
turn it over to our CIO to introduce the
[16:57] strategic
[17:28] Yeah.
Is it okay?
[17:49] [Music]
[17:56] There are seats over at the front just a
[Music]
[18:05] few. Is this
better? if I start to fall for that
[18:14] again.
Okay. So, I'm Thank you, Deputy Mayor
[18:20] Corbett. Um, I am here to speak about
the strategic plan for 2025
[18:25] 2023. Um, I know some of you have
perhaps read this plan from our website
[18:29] and there are copies at the back. I
think they are gone now, but they're
[18:33] still on the website as well. We first
introduced some of the themes and
[18:37] concepts of the strategic plan at the
town hall meeting last year. Since then,
[18:42] we have fine-tuned the pillars in our
set goals. The mission, the mission, and
[18:46] principles we will explain have been
considered when making decisions. The
[18:51] strategic plan for 2025 2030 emphasizes
three key initiatives aimed at fostering
[18:58] community growth and sustainability.
It's essential to recognize that these
[19:02] initiatives are not just about immediate
benefits, but also about line laying a
[19:07] foundation for long-term
prosperity. By focusing on sustainable
[19:11] practices, we can ensure that our
community thrives while preserving
[19:15] resources for future generations. This
plan serves as a roadmap for the
[19:19] township, guiding us toward a more
resilient and vibrant community. The
[19:24] strategic plan touches on corporate
responsibilities, community growth,
[19:28] investment and business development as
well as protecting the natural
[19:32] environment. The last strategic plan for
Bonfield was in 2003 with a focus on
[19:38] economic development.
[19:49] The council instructed early on in the
term to take measure of the township
[19:54] find gaps and deficiencies both within
the municipal operations and what could
[19:59] be barriers to bondfield's
future. This slide shows the timelines
[20:04] to date. While the top says adoption in
March of 2025, this is fluid. In fact,
[20:09] the document is only a draft when we are
proud to present to you tonight. You are
[20:15] welcome to take notes, comment, and
reach out to me any member of the
[20:18] council or staff to share your feedback.
It is important all states, all
[20:23] stakeholders agree on the priorities as
the strategic plan guides decisions and
[20:29] discussions among council. As you can
see, there are a number of steps that we
[20:33] have taken to get to this stage. All
previous studies, including the
[20:37] municipal energy plan, the waterfront
living master plan, and comments from
[20:41] the official plan openhouse in April
2023, were all reviewed to evaluate the
[20:47] outstanding
recommendations. Council had two
[20:50] brainstorming sessions and a community
satisfaction survey was conducted. The
[20:54] background report has also been prepared
that summarizes how these consultations
[20:59] turned into the strategic plan.
[21:06] So this at a glance summarizes the
strategic plan and the goals we hope to
[21:11] achieve within the next five years.
Again, it's a living document that will
[21:15] change as new trends emerge, new
legislation is adopted, and as projects
[21:20] get completed.
[21:27] So the vision for the township of
Bonville is a reliable, effective and
[21:31] trusted provider of services to
community. The mission for the township
[21:36] is a modern municipal government which
fosters safety and a sense of community
[21:40] through fiscal responsibility and
sustainable growth. The vision and
[21:44] mission are the cornerstones of our
strategic plan. They articulate our
[21:48] aspirations and the fundamental purposes
of our initiatives. A well-defined
[21:53] vision inspires and motivates the
community while a clear mission provides
[21:57] the direction. There are many versions
of these crafted and as we asked, what
[22:02] do we want residents to say in 50 years
about the township? We have words such
[22:07] as familyfriendly, efficient, reliable,
proud community and a place to raise a
[22:12] family with a great quality of life. If
we have all of those things, we are
[22:17] considered reliable, effective, and a
modern community.
[22:25] As we move forward, it's important to
also keep the following guiding
[22:29] principles at the forefront of our
discussions and dec decisions. Ensuring
[22:34] that all actions align with our
overarching goals. Service excellence is
[22:39] key to building trust and pride in the
community. By fostering transparency and
[22:43] accountability, we create a positive
relationship between officials and
[22:47] residents. Financial prudence must be
top of mind for all decisions. We heard
[22:52] you. We know there is much to be done to
manage the infrastructure we have. You
[22:57] want better roads and you want to know
you are getting value for your tax
[23:00] dollars. Pennies on each dollar are
collected for these municipal
[23:03] improvements. It's understood that
decisions must be made wisely.
[23:08] Sustainable growth comes from being
ready for investment for new
[23:12] developments and retaining the balance
of all compatible uses within the
[23:15] township. Supporting local business and
promoting resources to residents that
[23:20] enhance quality of life will achieve
community prosperity. Environmental
[23:25] awareness and stewardship are critical
to protecting our natural assets and
[23:29] ensuring a healthy future for all
residents. Over and over we heard that
[23:34] residents value our lakes, rivers, and
forests. And when making decisions, it's
[23:38] necessary to consider the long-term
impact. Encouraging active participation
[23:44] in local decision making empower
citizens and strengthens the community
[23:48] engagement. As we will present the new
trailer and short-term rental bylaws
[23:52] later this evening, it shows this
collaborative approach and ensures that
[23:56] the voices of all community members are
heard and
[24:02] valued. And these are the strategic
pillars. They provide a structured
[24:06] approach to achieving our goals and
ensure that our efforts are aligned with
[24:10] the community's core values. Each pillar
represents a critical area of focus that
[24:15] will guide our actions and
decision-making
[24:18] processes. Understanding these pillars
helps to prioritize our efforts and
[24:22] allocate resources effectively and to
drive meaningful change. Each pillar
[24:28] lists the goals and action steps needed
to achieve them. These goals are
[24:32] intended to be achieved within the next
five years. Some will be sooner and some
[24:36] require additional resources so they may
take longer. These goals are in addition
[24:41] to our strategic review of the official
plan and the comprehensive zoning but
[24:46] they intertwine and to build and define
the township.
[25:00] Len shows a responsible government
fosters trust and community pride by
[25:04] engaging residents in projects,
promoting healthy living, equal
[25:08] opportunities, and creating robust
policy by collaborating and being
[25:12] transparent. The township aims to
deliver modern inclusive spaces and
[25:17] effectively address strategic
[25:22] challenges. Through the community
satisfaction survey, we heard from you
[25:26] that peer communication and community
participation is important. In addition,
[25:31] complying with regulations is a
requirement of all legislative bodies
[25:36] tying back to our direction of being the
responsible government. The example
[25:40] driven by the survey results, we know
that there is 67% satisfaction with the
[25:45] township's communication to date.
However, there's not a clear direction
[25:50] on how best to provide information
effectively. Creating a communication
[25:54] plan without the how and the while, the
why and the when, so you know how to
[25:59] find the
information. Hosting events is important
[26:03] to building community and a sense of
belonging. This applies to long-term
[26:07] residents as well as new community
members. Goals are to facilitate and
[26:12] support more events and opportunities
with service clubs and community groups.
[26:16] The township must comply with a number
of senior level government regulations
[26:21] and the township is working on updating
several internal policies and procedures
[26:25] to be more current with the municipal
sector. The one constant is change and
[26:30] the current dynamics of both the
provincial and the federal government
[26:34] are proof of
that. Later tonight are further examples
[26:39] of keeping up with the legislation and
trends for improvement to bond built
[26:43] through our zoning.
[26:49] Pillar 2 aims to support economic and
social development by collaborating with
[26:53] residents, agencies, and neighboring
communities. This plan is to maintain
[26:57] municipal infrastructure, conduct
regular inspections, and boost
[27:01] productivity. Additionally, the plan
will accelerate the innovative housing
[27:05] solutions for bond residents, ensuring
the future growth and development while
[27:10] making smart investments to a avoid
burning taxpayers.
[27:18] This is a complex pillar which includes
matters of health and well-being,
[27:22] community prosperity, access to
attainable housing, a diverse economy
[27:27] which builds upon the assets and
resources of the community of
[27:30] bonding. The goals within this pillar
recognize that by modernizing and
[27:35] simplifying processes and working with
partners, we can build capacity and
[27:39] sustainable economic growth in the
community.
[27:46] This goal under pillar two speaks to the
importance of municipal services and
[27:50] infrastructure including roads and
bridges and ensuring that we have robust
[27:55] systems in place to manage these assets
so residents can get to work, visit
[28:00] family and friends and enjoy a good
quality of life.
[28:07] The township uh pillar three supports
critical governance by making funding
[28:12] decisions based on asset management
priorities and best practices with clear
[28:17] policies and rules. The township plans
to modernize administrative processes
[28:21] and seek efficiencies to lower costs.
Long-term planning and budgeting will
[28:26] help demonstrate and achieve
departmental efficiencies.
[28:32] Goals within this pillar include
finalizing the 10-year capital asset
[28:36] management plan that's mandatory for
July 2025. This document will set
[28:41] priorities through evidence-based
reports in asset condition. We'll
[28:46] prepare multi-year operational operating
budgets to allow for better long-term
[28:50] decisions and a more stable tax funding.
And we will continue to seek out
[28:54] partners and opportunities for shared
services.
[29:00] Pillar four demonstrates how Bonfield
can become greener, more resilient, and
[29:04] prosperous by focusing on environmental
sustainability. The goal is outlining
[29:09] environmental solutions to reduce the
community's footprint and prepare for
[29:13] climate
[29:17] change. The township must make hard
decisions today to protect the future.
[29:23] We have LA capacity and blue green algae
blooms. There were more rain events with
[29:28] poor drainage systems in place which
deteriorate our roads and eventually
[29:31] floods into the lakes. Some households
still get their drinking water from the
[29:35] lakes. There are several changes coming
to landfill operations due to the
[29:40] provinially mandated full producer
responsibility for recycling and
[29:44] stricter rules for protecting land
sites. Decisions today can negatively
[29:48] impact the health and safety of the
water and environment. Council is aware
[29:52] of this and proceeds with caution in
making decisions.
[29:58] So to conclude our session with the
strategic plan, it outlines a clear
[30:01] vision aimed at enhancing the quality of
life for residents while promoting
[30:05] sustainability. As a living document,
the strategic pillars will guide our
[30:09] initiatives, ensuring they align with
the community's values and long-term
[30:13] goals. Identifying priority action items
that need immediate attention will drive
[30:18] progress and the community engagement.
Setting clear goals will help us measure
[30:22] success and adapt strategies as needed
over the
[30:29] years. To learn more, um the background
report and I already said it's all gone,
[30:34] but there is a link on our website as
well if you'd like to read that or you
[30:38] can come into the office and grab a
copy. Um tomorrow we'll put them on our
[30:44] website on the first page. just have to
scroll down and they are currently on
[30:49] the website under late under the about
last night if you want more information
[30:53] full
documents. Um we are happy to take any
[30:58] questions or or comments over the next
10 minutes if you have any ideas on the
[31:03] strategic plan.
[31:08] I don't necessarily have this plan but
you spoke about how like we're
[31:16] brush for the hydrop is that not
[31:21] well I use the I mean I will actually
allow our public works manager to answer
[31:26] kind of their their project plan but I
used obviously just the hyper pools as
[31:30] an example to show that we've pushed the
brush back off the road but in the past
[31:35] what we
don't understand
[31:42] no so that's our road allowance we own
33 f feet from center of road to each
[31:47] side of the road. So that is our road
allowance that we cleared. But we're not
[31:50] clearing for No, we're clearing for
bondfield lines of sight. Why do you
[31:54] think about clearing? He didn't. He just
said a point of reference. You can see
[31:58] the hydrop poles. Now I just wanted to
point out the difference in the picture
[32:00] is that you can see the brush was cut
back off the road. Basically the
[32:03] hydroples sit on property line.
Pardon me. Brush. Yeah, we're clearing
[32:09] the brush for roadside brush. Yeah.
Yeah.
[32:20] Um, uh, would you be receptive to having
any volunteers,
[32:25] uh, with your process re-engineering
initiative that you have, uh, on your
[32:31] strategic plan as far as finance goes?
like I'm I'm not sure how you said that
[32:38] uh you want to modernize your financial
processes. I have a lot of experience in
[32:44] process engineering and retired. I don't
I don't know how you're going to go
[32:49] about that. But it's a pretty
complicated process if you don't have
[32:53] any experience.
So we have our first volunteer to help
[32:57] you create. Let's talk after meeting.
Thank you.
[33:02] Yeah, that's great. and all of the
processes that we do, all of our
[33:06] meetings, um if the budget was coming
up, all of our committee meetings, all
[33:10] of them are reported and they're on the
website. Uh all of the minutes, the
[33:14] agendas, packages for council, they're
on the um website as well. And if you
[33:20] can't get to the website, you can
certainly come into the office and get
[33:23] anything. So we always um like when the
communities
[33:28] engaged talking about coming in
calls you get told different things are
[33:35] you going to make an appointment
everybody has got time to make an
[33:39] appointment come in next week at 20
after 1 and be kicked out of there by
[33:44] 2:00 and the thing is your staff has
been changing so much in the last two
[33:49] years none of the people don't go unless
they go in and all the cars out the wall
[33:54] and then they're
outdated. Now, this this is one point
[33:59] that I like to get about and another
thing is I'll include this in about the
[34:04] containers. You're not containers.
Well, I'm going to bring it up right now
[34:10] anyway. Are you going to be
liable coming in when you had a
[34:17] container out there? I can't afford. So,
I'll address the customer service and
[34:22] we'll get to the containers. I rather
answer that question after we've done
[34:25] the
[34:27] presentation around my place. They
better have safety pants on. I don't
[34:33] care.
They want to have good safety pants
[34:37] because you're going to get your ass.
So, in the customer service, yes,
[34:42] absolutely. Please come into the office.
We have a great team. Yes, we've um
[34:46] we've built a great team over the last
few years. Uh and we are certainly here
[34:49] to help you. Sometimes we're out on
inspections or in another meeting. Um
[34:53] so, ADA is always great if you can call
ahead and we can get prepared and be
[34:56] able to answer your questions much
quicker as well.
[35:01] My name is Jules
Garnier and I've been born and raised in
[35:06] Bonfield here and I've been paying tax
since
[35:10] 1980. And the way you're going on a
statistic of the growth in this
[35:15] township, we sure don't have the support
of your township for council. So, and
[35:20] even myself, I'm calling myself like
I've been discriminated against this
[35:25] township.
I was in
[35:33] business people in this township to be
coming here. Now I'm a
[35:38] developer and you're talking about
growth and you're separating
[35:46] the growth of this township between
people to discriminate. I've tried to
[35:51] develop a subdivision. 30 years. 35
years I've been arguing with this town.
[35:57] I don't know who's discriminating, the
counselors or the staff, but I'm
[36:01] prepared. I've been to court with the
township
[36:05] 1983 and and I've been to court before
with the
[36:09] counrip and I still own my land. and try
to take it away from
[36:14] me and now and I even been on council
and I went to court for the contract and
[36:20] I saved the contract. Now you're talking
about growth now all these doning thing
[36:26] you're trying to promote on these
bylaws. You're discouraging people to
[36:31] come in stock and
[36:38] not the question is why why are you
putting the
[36:43] subdivision to a separate part of this
township to not have whatever it is that
[36:50] grow in this township. Now you're
eliminating me from selling my property
[36:56] as a subdivision when you're not
allowing trailers on subdivision. You're
[37:02] not allowing this on a subdivision. Why
is it the word subdivision is in your
[37:08] growth of plan? We should be all equal.
We're only one township here and we
[37:15] should be all equal. Never mind.
[37:24] has their own agreement when you go
through and there's a long process that
[37:28] I'm sure that you went through. We
weren't here when you have the
[37:31] subdivision. Yes, you are. So, each one
of those subdivisions has their own
[37:37] parameters on that. So, we'd have to
look into each one individually. But I'm
[37:42] not seeing any questions about the
strategic plan. So I can carry on with
[37:46] the
[37:50] questions.
[38:00] So one question I had was in your
strategic plan. I was just noting you
[38:04] had diversifying the local economy. You
had encouraging visiting family and
[38:09] friends and good quality of life
supporting local businesses.
[38:14] The bylaws you are bringing trying to
bring into place limit short-term
[38:18] rentals. They limit families being able
to bring their trailers on their
[38:24] parents' properties or family
gatherings.
[38:28] In other words,
[38:33] it's trailers later on and I think there
will be a lot of misconceptions that are
[38:37] cleared up.
[38:46] Take the
question. Come on, take the question.
[38:51] Is it about the strategic plan?
Is it about any of the pillars or the
[38:56] anything in the strategic plan?
I do have one. Sorry.
[39:03] 2025 9 10 and 11. We're not talking
about those right now. We will get to
[39:09] them, but we need to speak to the
strategic plan. And I do have a lady
[39:13] that was speaking before you that what
did one
[39:25] addressing in his
Tesla? Well, that's who it was. Is Is
[39:31] there a question to the strategic plan?
[39:38] I don't know. I don't know that. But
we'll move on to the
[39:59] next zoning.
[40:13] we move forward. I messed up when I
started. I didn't introduce everyone of
[40:22] the staff and the council. So, I would
like to correct that so everyone knows
[40:29] uh who's in the township. So I start
with Nikki Ko the CEO clerk
[40:42] treasurerly he's our
planners Alex Hacken Brook is the public
[40:47] manager
[40:55] the fire chief I'm not worried thanks
Chris
[41:00] not worried thank
[41:05] Unfortunately,
[41:08] and then Mike, why would I be waiting?
Chief welding
[41:13] official
Andre, deputy clerk,
[41:17] treasurer, and Christina Young and
Cassandra Cluster, their administrative
[41:23] assistance.
[41:31] Clark is here and we have pastor
[41:36] [Music]
Corettstone and
[41:40] [Music]
Counc. And everybody brought their cards
[41:45] here tonight. So if you want any of the
business cards before the evening's
[41:50] over, um they have them here. So um next
we
[41:56] have I have to uh
to read the public notice.
[42:09] This is a declaration of public hearing.
Take notice that the council of the
[42:15] corporation of the township of Bonfield
is holding public meeting tonight, March
[42:21] 18th,
2025 to consider proposed zoning bylaw
[42:26] amendments under section 34 of the
planning act. The proposed zoning bylaw
[42:33] amendments are
2025-09 being a bylaw to amend
[42:40] comprehensive zoning bylaw number
[Music]
[42:46] 202-49 to permit certain provisions for
travel trailers and recreation vehicles.
[42:56] 2010 being a bylaw to amend bylaw number
2018-06.
[43:04] [Music]
zoning amendment bylaw to permit certain
[43:09] provisions for travel trailers and
recreation
[43:13] vehicles being a bylaw to amend
properties comprehensive zoning bylaw
[43:21] 2012-49 for the township of Bonville for
additional dwelling
[43:26] units, hunt camps, and accessory
structures.
[43:31] If a person or public body that files an
appeal of a decision of the township of
[43:39] Bonfield in respect of the proposed
zoning bylaw does not make oral
[43:47] submission at this public meeting or has
made a written submission to the
[43:51] township of Bonfield before the proposed
zoning bylaw is adopted, the Ontario
[43:58] Land
Tribunal may dismiss.
[44:01] All are part of the
appeal. Staff will now provide
[44:08] presentations on the details of these
proposed amendments. And at this time,
[44:14] I'm going to ask everybody out there to
be respectful. You have your issues, you
[44:19] have questions, but if it goes beyond
that, then I have to close the meeting
[44:25] down. That's not something that I want
to do, but I'm just asking I'm asking
[44:32] your cooperation and make this meeting
worthwhile. Everybody wants answers,
[44:38] then you
will not uh start yelling because I'll
[44:45] just close the meeting. And that again,
I said that's not what I want to do. I
[44:51] want people to be able to get the
answers that they're here for.
[45:04] I'll be starting um with the bylaw
2009 and 10. Um as mayor pet said under
[45:13] section 34 of the planning act prior to
council adopting the bylaw relating to
[45:17] zoning matter public meeting must be
held. This is the public meeting. Um it
[45:22] was the notice was issued on February
26, 2025. It was posted on the township
[45:27] website and mailed to each household
within the township. It was further
[45:31] communicated through social media.
Copies of the bylaws have been posted
[45:36] and were available at the municipal
office. We have additionally created
[45:39] these presentations to ensure the
policies are well communicated.
[46:01] So bylaw
20259 is to amend the comprehensive
[46:05] zoning bylaw
201249 to permit the use of RVs and
[46:10] trailers. So, under the current and
existing rules, RVs and trailers are not
[46:15] permitted to be used or stored on vacant
land in Bonville. This has never been
[46:21] permitted. This issue has been at the
forefront of councils in the past and
[46:25] remains a contentious topic today. In
2018, council of the day undertook a
[46:30] public process to review the use of
trailers and passed bylaw
[46:35] 201806, which better defined RVs and
trailers, but still held firm the zoning
[46:41] bylaw to not allow the use of RVs or
trailers on vacant land. Since the
[46:47] meeting to council in 2022, this issue
has come forward again. There were a
[46:53] number of surveys, meetings, and
consultations on the draft of the bylaw.
[46:57] While we will speak to the outcome of
the public consultation and the final
[47:00] draft of the trailer use bylaw later,
the legal review did reveal that the
[47:06] current bylaws in place for
zoning prevent the use of trailers and
[47:11] they must be amended. So bylaw
20259 and
[47:16] 202510 are those such amening bottles.
They are not about the regulations for
[47:21] the trailers.
[47:36] So these the amendments required are
shown here. These changes only relate to
[47:41] the use of RVs and trailers. Other
accessory buildings or structures will
[47:45] not be permitted for human habitation
under the current rule. If you have a
[47:50] trailer on your property that has an
existing permitted dwelling, this bylaw
[47:54] has little impact to you. You will not
have to have a license on the trailer,
[47:59] but you will be allowed to use the
trailer on your house property for a
[48:03] total of up to 120 days instead of 90 in
a 10-month period. And the intent, of
[48:09] course, would be no living in it during
the winter months. real clear. You do
[48:14] not need a permit. If you have a
property that has a house and you store
[48:18] or use your trailer on that property,
you do not need a license. The license
[48:24] is only for vacant
land. Currently, there are no use or
[48:28] storage of an RV or trailer on vacant
land anywhere in the township. Adding
[48:34] the section 3.23 will now permit the use
and storage of certain properties under
[48:39] the licensing system. This is this a
significant change to the comprehensive
[48:44] zoning
[48:47] product. So furthermore, the use of an
RV or trailer has to be permitted has to
[48:53] be a permitted use within a designated
zone. Zoning by lawars are exclusive by
[48:58] nature, meaning that unless it is
explicitly stated as a permitted use in
[49:02] the zoning bylaw, it is not allowed. The
use is being added to the rule zone for
[49:08] properties under rule
uses. The rule zone has both residential
[49:13] uses and rule uses outlined on the
slide. The trailer will not be
[49:18] considered a residential
use. If any new use, it is also
[49:23] necessary to put setbacks in place and
they are out outlined here with the
[49:27] intent to keep the character of the
neighborhood in a rural area with
[49:31] trailers required to be set back from
the road.
[49:37] But I need a foodaker. I need more than
one.
[49:45] So then we move on to bylaw
202510. And as mentioned earlier in 2018
[49:53] council passed bylaw
201806 which further defined the RVs and
[49:58] the trailers but still held firm to the
zoning bylaw not you are not allowed to
[50:03] use the you on not allowed to use RVs or
trailers on vacant land. Bylaw 202510 is
[50:10] being considered to amend this bylaw and
now permit trailers on certain
[50:18] properties to be compatible with the
trailer bylaw. Section 5 and section 6
[50:23] of bylaw
201806 needs to be repealed. All other
[50:28] provisions in that bylaw remain valid.
It is also important to highlight if
[50:33] there's a current invalid building
permit issued for a primary dwelling on
[50:37] the property and work is continuous on
the house, a trailer is permitted
[50:41] without a license. Likewise, an
amendment from the last council meeting
[50:45] that if you purchase a trailer license
and later within that same year you were
[50:49] issued a building permit for a primary
dwelling and start construction, you can
[50:54] apply for a refund on that trailer
license. This will conclude the proposed
[50:58] amendments for the biolog trailers and
I'll pass the meeting over to Simon
[51:03] Blakey our planning administrator for a
presentation on bylaw 202511.
[51:19] We'll do questions at the end. Yeah,
question this section.
[51:27] [Music]
Hi everybody. My name is Simon Blakeley.
[51:31] I'm the planning administrator here for
the township of Bonfield. So I started
[51:36] the role back in September. Um I can see
a few familiar faces in the room there.
[51:40] So have to see everybody else too. So my
role I'll be kind of overseeing planning
[51:45] economic development and kind of
sustainability initiatives. Uh and if at
[51:50] all anybody wants to contact me can
reach me at any time. My email address
[51:54] is planning
[51:57] onfieldtownship.com. So, as you might
detect from my accent, I'm not
[52:00] originally from this area. Um, but I
have lived in Northern Ontario for over
[52:04] 10 years now. So, I'm familiar with the
context, the people, and I'm here to
[52:09] help. I've gained experience in planning
and economic development um here in
[52:14] Northern Ontario as well as in the
UK. But enough about me.
[52:20] So, as you are likely um have guessed,
this next section is going to be
[52:23] actually quite technical and I'll try my
best to explain it. But again, we have
[52:28] some cheat sheets. We're here to talk to
you. So, please come see us at the
[52:32] meeting or anytime at your
convenience. And in this next section
[52:37] public meeting I'll summarize uh bylaw
2025-11 which is a bylaw proposed to
[52:43] amend comprehensive zoning bylaw which
is the comprehensive plan to permit
[52:48] users within different zones across the
township and at the same time the
[52:53] proposed amendment um seeks to ensure
land use compatibility issues uh and
[52:58] other planning matters being addressed.
So the key bits I want to cover here are
[53:02] additional volume units, accessory
structures which include shipping
[53:07] [Music]
cont. So as I go through the
[53:12] presentation, I'll first define each of
those uses and then I'll provide some
[53:17] details as to how the current bylaw will
be amended so you can see the changes
[53:22] and also summarize some of the more
generalized housekeeping matters that
[53:26] we're proposing.
[53:35] Okay. So the first definition says
building primary or primary building uh
[53:40] which means the principal building on a
lot. So the consultation version of this
[53:45] document originally defined a building
primary buildings as being the principal
[53:50] dwelling unit on a lot. This was written
um so sorry um it was written that way
[53:56] as the very nature of additional
dwelling units means the ancillary to
[54:01] the principal dwelling unit. However,
it's noted the primary building is more
[54:06] than just a dwelling unit. So it should
read as a principal building and not a
[54:11] principal dwelling on a
lot. And in this regard, the broadening
[54:16] of the definition um could allow for the
conversion of other non-residential
[54:20] properties in select
circumstances. But for clarification,
[54:25] ADUs will not be permitted on a property
that's currently designated for
[54:29] employment
[54:34] uses. Another definition is garden
suites. So the township is not actually
[54:39] aware of any approvals um having been
granted the use of garden suites within
[54:43] the township and as such the provision
is considered redundant and the
[54:48] definition and that permitted use will
therefore no longer be permitted uh
[54:52] within the comprehensive zoning
by that said uh the uh provisions for
[54:58] detached additional dwelling units or
ADUs uh which we will cover soon um will
[55:04] replace that provision but without the
limitation
[55:07] 20 year period as was the
[55:13] case. Next, we have tiny homes. Quite
topical right now. Although the proposed
[55:18] amendment of the bylaw does not
explicitly state where tiny homes could
[55:22] be implemented within the township, they
generally refer to small growing units
[55:27] uh which are compliant with the Ontario
building code. So in addition in
[55:32] accordance to the other bylaws proposed
by the
[55:35] township tin homes shall not be
permitted to be on wheels
[55:39] um will not be required to have
permanent cutings or will be required
[55:43] permanent cutings plus servicing
arrangements um including onsite sewage
[55:49] system and the small dwelling unit or
tiny home will also be uh required to
[55:55] obtain CSA A277 certification. That's a
mouthful, but we'll be putting resources
[56:01] and information on the website to
explain what that is and which house mod
[56:06] house
that tiny homes will only be considered
[56:11] as a detached additional dwelling unit
by
[56:14] detached and not primary
dwelling. So, we need to make sure in
[56:19] all of this minimum distance separation
is being required to prior safety
[56:23] protection reasons under the Ontario
building code. If in doubt at all,
[56:28] please speak to my colleague Mike, chief
building
[56:34] official. So next definition we have
semi detached dwellings. These are
[56:39] currently listed of dwelling semi
detached in the bylaw. So really this is
[56:42] a tightening up again of the wording uh
to ensure the new definition is that
[56:47] each semi- detached dwelling would fall
under separate legal ownerships. And
[56:52] this is really to try and reduce some of
the conflicts that occur between
[56:55] servicing. So when sewer line is being
run
[56:59] um between the septic and the building
there they need to be served separately
[57:05] for each
[57:09] document. So next we have the definition
for accessory building structures or
[57:14] uses. This proposed amendment was simple
change in the order of the words. Um so
[57:20] in this regard accessory refers to a
building structure a use that is
[57:25] incidental subordinate and exclusively
devoted to the principal building
[57:30] structure or use and located on same
[Music]
[57:36] law. So a little bit more on the
details. Um they shall not be erected
[57:41] prior to the construction of the
permitted
[57:43] dwelling where it's necessary and it
should be necessary the storage of tools
[57:47] and materials in connection with the
construction of a new dwelling and it
[57:52] shall only be used for
storage. The township is currently
[57:56] enforcing existing provisions but this
amendment provides mechanisms that will
[58:00] prevent any future misuse of what was
always intended to be an accessory
[58:05] structure.
So permits for access restored sheds
[58:08] will now be issued at the same time as
the primary building
[58:15] permit. In keeping with the previous
slide, another proposed regulation um on
[58:20] this is the time frames within which
accessory structures can exist on a
[58:25] property while the new building is being
constructed.
[58:29] So the most provision state where the
principal dwelling is not substantially
[58:34] commenced within one
year of issuing a building permit or
[58:38] where the applicant does not obtain an
occupancy permit within 3 years of the
[58:42] building permit uh that the chief
building official would have certain
[58:47] provisions that say to work with
the provision also reinforces the
[58:53] minimum premediard set requirements
which apply to all zones And it
[58:58] specializes specializes that accessory
uses shall not occupy more than 15% of
[59:05] the total lot area. Now any of you that
have larger rural blocks I know that's
[59:10] quite a lot of
[59:13] land. to continually accessing buildings
and
[59:17] structures. The proposed amendment
[59:23] to the proposed amendment to section
3.11.7 primarily applies to properties
[59:29] within the hands where a mix of
residential and or rural zones and
[59:34] associated uses exist. But it does not
include land that are truly zoned for
[59:39] employment purposes. And in this regard,
we refer to section
[59:44] 3.45.9.4 of the uh bylaw. There's a copy
at the back uh which confirms that
[59:50] detached ADUs shall be considered
accessory building structures or uses
[59:55] for the purposes of calculating block
coverage which again is
[59:59] [Music]
15%. Um it also recognizes instances
[1:00:03] where within hamlets where that lot
coverage could be increased to 20%. And
[1:00:08] that just recognizes that the the lot
size is smaller and the development is
[1:00:12] more
[1:00:16] compact. Okay, keep it up. So, next
definition is additional dwelling units
[1:00:22] or ADUs as we refer to them. Uh these
are also known by the province of
[1:00:26] Ontario as additional residential units.
Uh and this use classification was
[1:00:32] originally proposed to substitute
secondary dwellings which we'll point to
[1:00:37] or granny suites as you might know
them. So in this regard if the new use
[1:00:42] is permitted as additional dwelling
units by council secondary dwellings
[1:00:47] would no longer be permitted in all
zones with the exception of the
[1:00:51] residential limited services zone which
I will turn to
[1:00:56] short. Well, before I continue with
additional dwelling units, uh it's
[1:01:00] important to note that um this could
substantially increase the amount of
[1:01:03] development that you would be permitted
to do on your properties. This is a
[1:01:07] positive change that everybody could
potentially benefit
[1:01:10] from. And um I have to inform you also
that township's not actually obliged to
[1:01:15] do this, right? All of these government
regulations and that have been
[1:01:19] introduced to accelerate housing
delivery on across Ontario do apply
[1:01:24] primarily to uh urban areas that don't
apply to rural townships in the same
[1:01:28] way. So this is actually a proactive
measure that we're taking to allow
[1:01:33] additional development and provide new
housing in the township.
[1:01:39] So, we're trying to be creative and
proactive in this process. Um, and
[1:01:44] potentially, um, on lots that have
sufficient land, etc., able to service
[1:01:48] them, you would be permitted to have up
to two additional dwelling units on your
[1:01:52] property. That includes one attached ADU
and one detached ADU.
[1:01:59] And the idea is really to try and
accelerate the delivery of affordable
[1:02:04] and table attainable housing because we
know that the shortages and that's
[1:02:07] bumping up rents and bumping up the
price of land etc. So the more smaller
[1:02:12] units that we can build the more that
price can come down be affordable for
[1:02:16] everybody and the overall intent behind
this therefore is to diversify that
[1:02:20] supply and there's funding for it too.
If anybody's checked out the District of
[1:02:25] Nicholas Social Service Administration
Board or federal government programs,
[1:02:29] you can receive sizable amounts of money
up to $50,000 per
[1:02:43] unit. Okay. So, a maximum of three
dwelling units is uh allowable per
[1:02:48] eligible lot of which a maximum of two
within the primary building. So it's the
[1:02:53] same as what was the secondary school.
The reason is that you have more than
[1:02:56] two units within one building then it's
then categorized as a residential
[1:03:01] multiple attached. There's different
regulations of that and it means you
[1:03:05] have to get
[1:03:14] change. So the prescribed zones in which
ADUs will be permitted are the
[1:03:18] residential residential first density
zone, the residential second density
[1:03:23] zone and the rural zone and the
introductions of ADUs will require prior
[1:03:29] approval from the North Bay mat
conservation authority and won't be able
[1:03:33] to include uh mobile homes, recreational
vehicles, hunt camps, guest cabins,
[1:03:38] shipping containers or any other
structure that is not designed for human
[1:03:43] occupation.
[1:03:47] So the minimum of any habitable ADU is
188 square ft or square ft 17.5
[1:03:56] m and the gross floor area of the ADU
shall not exceed 60% the total gross
[1:04:02] floor area of the primary residence and
where an ADU conversion is proposed
[1:04:07] that's another provision um in which
case a new dwelling will be built and
[1:04:12] what is the existing dwelling will
prefer to be an
[1:04:15] ADU that um shall not be 60% greater in
terms of this floor space area than the
[1:04:22] original
[1:04:25] Dwell.
Okay. So the final provision for ADUs is
[1:04:30] that they should be located in the rear
or sideyard of the primary dwelling in
[1:04:34] the residential first and second density
zones. That's the
[1:04:38] hands. In the rural areas, there's more
flexibility around where these ad could
[1:04:44] be provided subject to kind of setbacks
and buffering
[1:04:51] landscaping. So as you've likely
gathered by now the definition further
[1:04:55] distinguished into attach detached ads
and on the screen you can see the
[1:05:02] proposed definition for an attached
ADU. So let's read this. It's a
[1:05:08] self-contained dwelling unit with
separate kitchen bathroom facilities
[1:05:13] within a single detached or semi-
detached dwelling of the same lot as
[1:05:19] constructed, renovated or altered and
considered
[1:05:24] attached
easily. Um so next we have additional
[1:05:29] dwelling units detached. Uh and on
screen you can see the prop definition
[1:05:34] for this. uh is required to be
positioned within the rear yard or
[1:05:37] sideyard of the same lot that
accommodates the primary single detached
[1:05:41] dwelling
unit. Also, as mentioned, there could be
[1:05:45] some exceptions to proposed uh
positioning of that within the
[1:05:49] row. Please do speak to us about
[1:05:53] that. So, as mentioned, there is this
potential to convert. So if you have a
[1:05:58] property, you want to build another
potentially larger property on on the
[1:06:02] property to maybe you've got a
multigenerational family household,
[1:06:05] something like that, we're going to
allow for this. Um so the next
[1:06:09] definition, I say digital dwelling unit
conversion and the intent behind this is
[1:06:14] to provide a way for families to grow
and invest into their property at the
[1:06:18] time.
The proposed new single family dwelling
[1:06:22] should not exceed 2,000 square ft or be
more than 60% larger than the original
[1:06:29] dwelling. And let's uh be clear on this
as well. The 60% that's considerably
[1:06:34] larger than what the average is across
the province. We've done a lot of
[1:06:37] research on this over the last couple
years and the average is about
[1:06:41] 45%. We're looking to exceed that.
And the key again is that these detached
[1:06:46] ADUs cannot be severed from the main
property. So changes in the same
[1:06:55] legal. Next we have secondary dwellings.
So the proposed amendment to the
[1:06:59] comprehensive zoning bylaw um originally
proposed to delete this um but this was
[1:07:05] based upon the township's understanding
that some of the local lakes are
[1:07:08] increasingly subject to declining water
quality and lake health. And it's
[1:07:13] something that we've seen evident
through the increase in algae blooms in
[1:07:16] the last few years, meaning that these
lakes are increasingly vulnerable to
[1:07:20] additional
development. So the original proposal to
[1:07:23] remove this from the RLS was based on
professional opinions that were given to
[1:07:27] us by the North Bay natural conservation
authority which we are required to um
[1:07:32] abide by applicable law.
The township is also aware of other
[1:07:37] studies and professional opinions taken
back over two decades which have
[1:07:41] indicated the declining lake health is a
problem needs to be
[1:07:51] addressed. Okay. Um so it was also
decided the second dwelling unit
[1:07:56] provision um may remain in place for the
residential limited services zone for
[1:08:01] the time being. This is until we can do
some updated studies. Um there was some
[1:08:06] conversations uh at the planning
advisory committee which is appointed to
[1:08:11] kind of advise and guide on these
matters. Um and it was felt that until
[1:08:16] we were clear on that position that we
should stick with that as the the way
[1:08:20] forward. So there's no change within the
RLS to anybody that might consider
[1:08:24] asking that question. no change.
But however, recognizing the
[1:08:29] uncertainty, um we are committed to
doing the further studies at some
[1:08:36] stage. In the meantime, uh any
applications for secondary dwelling
[1:08:41] units within the RS zone will be
considered on a casebyase basis. So
[1:08:46] we'll consult with the conservation
authority anyway as we always oblig to
[1:08:49] do on every single application and we'll
we'll see we'll see what is the response
[1:08:54] and we'll try and get the best
[1:09:01] output. Okay. So next one is hunt camps.
Had that on the screen earlier there,
[1:09:06] but hunt camps are not currently
permitted anywhere in the township of
[1:09:10] Bonfield, but if this bylaw is passed,
they will now be permitted in select
[1:09:18] locations. Um they are seasonal
structures. They're not permitted for
[1:09:23] year round occupancy. Um, and if the
bylaws pass, they should not exceed a
[1:09:27] maximum gross floor area of 800 square f
feet or
[1:09:32] 74.3636 square meters. Um, they would
only be permitted in the rural zone and
[1:09:38] applicants uh would need to have at
least 10 hectares or 25 acres under
[1:09:44] their ownership to construct
camp. On this point, um it's important
[1:09:50] to note that some robust discussions
have again happened at the climate
[1:09:54] advisory committee level and on council.
Um initially it was proposed that um it
[1:10:00] would be just one hectare for one camp.
Uh one one of the members of council did
[1:10:05] uh raise concerns around that. Um and so
uh no council was contradicting that.
[1:10:10] Let's say um it was agreed that we
should move forward consultation on the
[1:10:14] basis of 10 hectares which is where
we're at today.
[1:10:18] But in this uh context, it's important
to note that Chisum Township only
[1:10:23] permits and counts and lots that are
minimum 20 hectares in size. So what
[1:10:28] we're proposing is already half of what
that size is.
[1:10:36] Half of what is and the size currently
proposed in Bonfield. Uh so the maximum
[1:10:43] size of 100 building in Chisum is also
less than that proposed in Bondfield
[1:10:48] being just 600 square ft
[1:10:52] 1,800. There's obviously some concerns
around immenity considerations. So land
[1:10:57] compatibility is somebody owns a
property next door. Do you want hunt
[1:11:00] camp right on your doorstep and a one
hectare lot? There's potential for
[1:11:05] noise, traffic generation complaints.
People are not happy in that
[1:11:10] circumstance frankly. So that's
something that we need to take on take
[1:11:14] on board as we we
policy. Um and whatever the final
[1:11:19] outcome is regarding size resell
accounts, uh it's key to not is they
[1:11:23] must comply with the Ontario building
code as all structures should and must
[1:11:28] be obtained uh from the chief building
official prior to the construction of
[1:11:32] home camp wood stove decks or
[1:11:37] plumbing. Next we have shipping
containers. These are not currently
[1:11:41] permitted anywhere in the township
beyond the smaller shipping uh
[1:11:44] containers that we see. They're typical
8 by 20 ft ones um which are 15 square
[1:11:51] meters and they do benefit from
permitted development rights. But
[1:11:56] recognizing these have been more
frequently used in the township. It was
[1:11:59] upon two counselors uh and staff that we
developed a policy around this. Again,
[1:12:04] it's been subject to lots of
consultation these past few
[1:12:08] years. So now uh shipping containers
will be permitted in the township, not
[1:12:13] just permitted ones but other ones. Um,
so long as um if if you're attaching
[1:12:18] them or if they're not being used for
anything that's other than just personal
[1:12:23] storage um or they're greater than
161.5 square ft that they will require a
[1:12:30] building. So again, you can reach out to
us anytime and we can answer that help
[1:12:34] you in terms of the placement of it all
the rest.
[1:12:38] So, it's important to reaffirm that
shipping containment itself is not
[1:12:41] considered a permitted use and cannot
therefore be placed on the property
[1:12:45] except where it's accessory to an
existing or proposed primary building.
[1:12:50] So, you need to have a house or
something on there to have an accessory
[1:12:53] shipping
container. In all cases, the shipping
[1:12:57] container shall comply with the Ontario
building code and all all applicable
[1:13:01] laws.
In addition, the amendment to zoning
[1:13:05] bylaw post restrictions on the height
and placement of shipping containers uh
[1:13:10] so to prevent stacking uh this limit is
5 m. It also directs these not be placed
[1:13:16] within 2 m of the main building in all
[1:13:22] zones. Getting there. Uh so the
provisions on uh shipping containers
[1:13:27] continue by stating these shall not be
permitted within the shore road
[1:13:31] allowance or any area where section 28
permit is required by the north
[1:13:36] conservation authority. We don't want
the shipping containers floating off
[1:13:40] into work. And it also proposes a
minimum landscape buffer of 30 mters
[1:13:46] around the perimeter of the property to
ensure satisfactory screening of the
[1:13:50] shipping container unless uh some kind
of design solution can be brought
[1:13:55] forward siding fences landscape
buffer. So these should be rust
[1:14:02] protected. Markings should be removed.
Nobody wants big giant container
[1:14:07] lettering all over it and they should be
painted neutral color not used for
[1:14:11] marketing or advertising
[1:14:17] purposes. The following slides also
apply uh so to all applicable zones. The
[1:14:24] first provision applies to access to
properties. Um these confirmed access
[1:14:28] shall be provided by the existing point
of access to the primary dwelling. uh a
[1:14:34] new secondary access is permitted which
um would be served by a municipal road
[1:14:39] um and it should not have a diverse
impact in the traffic flows and things
[1:14:43] like
that
[1:14:46] etc and where a provincial highway is
concerned that's where the access would
[1:14:51] be uh permission would be required from
the MTO as it would for any access of a
[1:14:55] provincial
highway of course the municipal level
[1:15:00] Alex the works um assist you
there. So no on park
[1:15:12] matters. Um section
3.45.9.7 confirms each proposed ADU
[1:15:18] shall have one designated parking space
which can include tandem parking spaces.
[1:15:24] So particular outlets where it's a
little bit more compact. Um that might
[1:15:28] be the solution.
[1:15:44] Um, next we have building requirements.
Maybe I better deal with this first. So,
[1:15:48] apparently it's a black Ford uh F250
F150 um registration. Is
[1:15:57] that says
[1:16:01] BV72525? Apparently it's blocking
somebody else in. So if you don't mind
[1:16:05] moving
[Music]
[1:16:08] it anybody
moving.
[1:16:12] Okay
[1:16:19] 150. Okay. Um so now to the building
design standards um this confirms that a
[1:16:26] maximum of one attached ADU shall be
permitted in that detached well as long
[1:16:32] as it does not alter the character of
the street scene and again cannot be
[1:16:35] seeded legally. It's not a standalone um
unit. The entrance should be located
[1:16:41] located at the ground level unless
building code or fire code dictates
[1:16:45] otherwise and the designated parking
spot should be
[1:16:51] provided. Now the detachus uh that unit
shall be provided in the same lot as the
[1:16:57] primary structure so under the same
[1:17:02] ownership. This bit refers to um kind of
the servicing arrangements. So uh the
[1:17:08] need to obtain an on-site sewage system
permit from the North Bay M conservation
[1:17:12] authority or a file review certificate
to confirm that where an ADU is proposed
[1:17:17] it will tie into the existing septic and
then this is capacity to achieve that
[1:17:22] role. Nobody wants them backing up and
this will ensure that the existing
[1:17:27] system has the capacity to accommodate
those additional loads. In all cases,
[1:17:32] the on-site sewage system proposed in
association with the ADU um is required
[1:17:38] to meet the minimum clearance distances
as required in section 8.2 of the
[1:17:42] Ontario building
[1:17:47] code. Okay. So, in terms of planning
policies related to the creation of new
[1:17:51] lots, um important to notice that um
where the lot is less than um 0.6 six
[1:17:57] hectares or has less than 60 meters of
frontage, a hydrogeeological assessment
[1:18:02] may be required um in order to allow
that to take place as it would for the
[1:18:07] creation of new lots. So that's not a
policy change. It's just applying what
[1:18:11] already
exists. Other provisions require access
[1:18:15] to a designated laundry facility,
whether standalone or shared. Um there
[1:18:19] were some questions raised about this
which we'll likely hear about tonight
[1:18:22] but it's a requirement of the Ontario
building code. We have no authority on
[1:18:27] that matter. It needs to have laundry
services and also that the ADUs uh shall
[1:18:33] not adversely impact the immunity
character or functional and committed
[1:18:37] use of adjoining
[1:18:42] properties. So section 3.45.97
45.9.17 relates to occupancy and
[1:18:47] confirms that the occupancy of these
ADUs can be anybody. Doesn't have to be
[1:18:51] a family member. Doesn't have to be
somebody on um social assistance. Any
[1:18:56] person is entitled to rent or occupy
with the
[1:19:01] unit. And finally, for the rules and
regulations to be observed, proponents
[1:19:06] of any post primary ADU conversions,
that's the flip that we said if you want
[1:19:10] to build a bigger home on property where
you want to got one, are required to
[1:19:14] sign a written agreement with the
township confirming uh the existing
[1:19:18] principal dwelling will become a
detached
[1:19:23] ADU. So, I'm going to wrap up here. Here
you can see how the expansion of these
[1:19:28] new admitted uses uh under the proposed
changes are applied in the residential
[1:19:33] first density zone and the residential
second density zone which is the
[1:19:38] hamlets. Existing provisions for
secondary dwellings and garden suites
[1:19:43] will be removed. However, up to two ADUs
shall be permitted in appropriate
[1:19:49] locations circumstances to a net gain in
the amount of housing that you can
[1:19:53] provide.
This includes one attached ADU and one
[1:19:58] detached
[Music]
[1:20:02] ADU. And in the residential limited
services zone, existing provisions for
[1:20:06] secondary dwellings shall be maintained
as is. However, garden suites uh which
[1:20:12] uh we are not aware of any in the
township will be removed.
[1:20:17] over permitted users to be retained
within the residential limited services
[1:20:20] zone, including cottage if you have one
or single detached dwelling. You can
[1:20:26] still have a a guest cabin or a bonkey
as you might know it. And uh but that
[1:20:31] should be for seasonal use only and will
not have its own servicing
[1:20:36] arrangement. And in the rural zone,
existing provisions for secondary
[1:20:39] dwellings will be removed as they are
for all zones except the adolescent and
[1:20:44] garden suites would never have permitted
use in the rural zone anyway. So that
[1:20:48] doesn't
apply. So instead in the rural zones up
[1:20:53] to two ADUs can be provided, one
attached, one detached. Um and that's
[1:21:00] it. So with that, I'll pass it back to
Mickey.
[1:21:10] There is
[1:21:15] [Music]
[1:21:26] no um so we shared a great deal of
technical information. So to summarize,
[1:21:32] bylaws
20259 and 10 are amending other bylaws
[1:21:37] that currently prohibit the use of
trailers on vacant land. The intent of
[1:21:42] this these is to now permit the use of
trailers on vacant land. There are
[1:21:47] regulations required in order to use the
trailer, but we'll present that later
[1:21:51] tonight. Without these amendments, the
rules would stay the same and nobody can
[1:21:55] use a trailer in the town in the
township. So these trailer bylaws
[1:22:00] address yes you want to you yes we will
use them you they're allowed to be used
[1:22:06] in the rule zone and what the setbacks
are. So those are the only three
[1:22:11] amendments in open for discussion on the
comments. By law
[1:22:17] 2025
11 is one making it a requirement that
[1:22:22] for vacant land you must take out an
accessory structure building permit at
[1:22:26] the same time as the primary dwelling
permit. You will have significant time
[1:22:31] to build the house, but vacant land
cannot be used, cannot be issued an
[1:22:35] accessory structure permit since there
is nothing for it to be accessory to.
[1:22:39] It's a timing
change. Number two is the use of
[1:22:42] shipping containers will be permitted.
Yes, they have to be set back on the
[1:22:46] road as any accessory structure
currently does and they have to remain
[1:22:51] attractive. We have heard that the
community wants more community pride and
[1:22:55] ensuring that your yard is neat will
achieve this. Smaller units used as
[1:23:00] storage only under 161.5 square feet do
not need a permit. However, a container
[1:23:06] over the over that is considered a
building under the Ontario building code
[1:23:10] act and does require a permit. Any
container that is modified from its
[1:23:16] manufactured state in the use of the
container must have a permit if it's not
[1:23:21] for storage. Those are provincial rules
and in place to keep everyone safe. So
[1:23:26] those are the existing ones. Number
three is we have removed garden suites
[1:23:30] as is an outdated term and adus will
replace the concepts. Garden suites
[1:23:35] regulated through the planning act for a
period of 20 years. There must be an
[1:23:40] agreement and typically there is a very
large deposit required to ensure that it
[1:23:45] is removed. The township does not know
of any such sweets in Bonfield and ADUs
[1:23:50] are far less restrictive restrictive and
they do not require deposits.
[1:23:56] Number four, secondary dwellings in most
zones are also being replaced with the
[1:24:01] new ADU concept. The caveat here is the
residential limited services zone, which
[1:24:07] is typically the waterfront. We have
evidence included in our 2012 official
[1:24:11] plan that the lakes are at or near
capacity for development. Properties are
[1:24:16] or were calculated as single family
dwellings for cottages when the studies
[1:24:20] were conducted over the last 20 years.
New studies are required before more
[1:24:25] than one dwelling can be constructed on
the property. Council left the bylaw as
[1:24:29] is for the RLS zone allowing the
secondary zone which means that one wall
[1:24:36] of a secondary has to be connected to
the primary dwelling and that's only for
[1:24:40] the RLS and it's um so it's not a rule
that's
[1:24:45] changing. Additional dwelling units
would now be permitted. The township has
[1:24:50] had several requests from family members
saying they want to build on a section
[1:24:54] of their property to allow a parent or a
child to stay, but they want to give
[1:24:58] them privacy and independence. In 2024,
the province amended the planning act to
[1:25:02] allow this. In fact, we mandated it for
larger centers, but not for rural
[1:25:06] communities. If you were on a municipal
water and sewer system, it was mandated
[1:25:10] three as a right, but not for Bonfield.
Council recognized that the need exists
[1:25:16] here and are creating the rules that
give residents the tools and
[1:25:18] opportunities they requested. So now
turn to the meeting um back over to
[1:25:24] Mayor Bquette. But before I do, I just
want to clarify that in in when we come
[1:25:29] to the public comments, the comment um
or the the three issues on the trailer
[1:25:34] bylaw and any of the issues in two um
202511 that Simon spoke to, we do have
[1:25:41] written comments and we have some um
submitted comments where they will speak
[1:25:46] to those and then we will open it up to
the floor for questions after that. If
[1:25:50] there are any questions about the
trailer regulations, that is opened
[1:25:55] later after the the presentation on
trailers and short-term rentals and
[1:25:59] those had to be submitted by yesterday
at noon. And then we'll so I pass this
[1:26:04] back over to Pette.
[1:26:11] Has any person has a person or public
body made a written submission to the
[1:26:17] town?
Yes.
[1:26:35] Okay. So, these are the ones for the
2025-1 which I just spoke to. Um, so
[1:26:43] this one is from Nat Bertan Burton.
So with respect to public input
[1:26:49] regarding shipping containers, I have no
problem with a well-maintained shipping
[1:26:54] container and personal property,
especially if it's well placed on the
[1:26:57] property, i.e. with consideration for
neighbors, office setbacks,
[1:27:02] etc. They're solid, secure, and great
for storage. We'd rather have that
[1:27:07] beautiful lot that ends up looking like
a dump uh from pro property owners lack
[1:27:12] of storage options. Besides, Bonfield
was built specifically because of the
[1:27:18] railway. So, there's a cultural aspect
to it that cannot be denied. In fact,
[1:27:23] seems like a great opportunity for
Bonfield to celebrate a railroad by
[1:27:26] using the Cam as a symbol of its growth.
Just takes a little creativity and
[1:27:31] thinking outside the box to make it
[Music]
[1:27:35] work. Next comment is from Diana Joa.
Um, although I can appreciate that the
[1:27:41] bylaws have to be written with a certain
amount of legal ease, I found some of
[1:27:46] this to be difficult and confusing to
read. So, apologies in advance if my
[1:27:50] questions or comments have been
addressed in the documents already. I
[1:27:54] will not be making a presentation at the
March 18th 25 meeting. Here are my
[1:27:59] questions and comments for your
consideration.
[1:28:03] bylaw
[1:28:05] 2024-42.3. What does it mean to have a
valid license with the township or field
[1:28:10] for recreational vehicles or trailers
and how is the fee schedule
[1:28:15] determined? How will the township deal
with the property owners who are
[1:28:18] currently in non-compliance with new and
in some cases existing bylaws as it
[1:28:24] pertains to the placement number and use
of trailers and other secondary living
[1:28:29] units? Will these be grandfiled? How
property tax has been adjusted to
[1:28:34] account for these spaces and how was the
120day usage of these units arrived at?
[1:28:40] I think it is outside the scope of the
township to mandate that additional
[1:28:45] units must include laundry facilities.
In terms of parking of spaces, if the
[1:28:50] intention is to provide easy access for
emergency vehicles and to prohibit
[1:28:54] street parking, perhaps the bylaw should
simply state those requirements and let
[1:29:00] the homeowner determine how to meet the
requirements of their property. Thank
[1:29:04] you for the opportunity to contribute
the process respectfully and team
[1:29:09] director.
The next one is from Pat just say in
[1:29:14] terms of response that we will provide
response in the next section
[1:29:19] right so this one's from Pat Kelly to
Bonfield tangent may counselors I would
[1:29:25] like some questions answered I was
wondering who decided not to have
[1:29:29] trailers and lengthen property I didn't
see any discussion on any council
[1:29:33] meeting or corporate service meeting
planning department to allow trailers
[1:29:38] and water from property
then refers to a survey some statistics
[1:29:43] where they say yes uh by 180 people and
no by 20 people. I only saw one
[1:29:52] corporate service meeting where Jason
Corbit said there would not be trailers
[1:29:56] on lake from property at the beginning
beginning of the meeting. I also noted
[1:30:00] that trailer parks and both uh Lake
Talon and Lake Northbing in multiple
[1:30:07] townships have trailers at Lakefront as
prime locations. Why are individual land
[1:30:13] owners not allowed the same privilege?
Why is Vonville Township acting like it
[1:30:17] is a homeowners association regulating
everything? This is a rural community.
[1:30:23] There is no sewer or water treatment
plants, no garbage pickup, and one of
[1:30:28] the highest tax rates with no service
and care.
[1:30:39] [Music]
[1:30:50] Okay, sure.
So in reply from Pat Countyy's um
[1:30:57] and questions. Thank you. Um
so not having trailers on the waterfront
[1:31:04] there are or in the RLS zone. So there
are several subdivision agreements which
[1:31:09] we spoke about before and they
explicitly prohibit trailers to be used
[1:31:13] on those lots. So we carried that
forward into this
[1:31:17] bylaw. They are no trailers to protect
our lakes. Um there are trailers.
[1:31:24] Um we have had a number of concerns on
what they where the septic and how is
[1:31:30] that managed. Um and then that will
obviously not protect our lakes. We've
[1:31:34] heard through the strategic plan through
our surveys that we everybody wants our
[1:31:38] lakes to be protected. This is one way
that we can do that. Children are not
[1:31:42] currently allowed anywhere. So we're
opening it into the rule as we explained
[1:31:46] that you know we have to start
somewhere. Let's start where we know it
[1:31:50] will be safer and on the lake on the RLS
we want to be available for the prime
[1:31:56] developments um for cottages and homes
[1:32:03] taxes
[1:32:18] Have you? So, we actually have a few
people who submitted in a question and
[1:32:21] we're going to get to them first and
then we'll open it up for the floor for
[1:32:24] questions. Okay.
[1:32:28] Yeah, we'll get to all the
[1:32:40] answers.
[1:32:49] Any person that is attending the public
meeting shall be afforded an opportunity
[1:32:54] to make an oral
representation in respect of the zoning
[1:32:58] bylaw
proposal. Does any person attending wish
[1:33:02] to make an oral presentation for zoning
bylaw amendments?
[1:33:17] nine people that will be making a
presentation. Uh speakers shall be
[1:33:23] entitled to address the council focusing
on the topic of discussion. There are
[1:33:30] several participants and we ask that you
keep your your comments to council on
[1:33:37] target so that we can hear everybody's
concern. All speakers must identify
[1:33:44] themselves to the recording secretary by
name, address, and contact telephone
[1:33:51] number.
There shall be no comments or
[1:33:58] outcry made during the individual's
[1:34:03] address. Should you not conduct yourself
in an orderly fashion, you may be asked
[1:34:09] to leave. The committee may or may not
be able to answer your questions or
[1:34:16] concerns at this time, but we shall do
our best to ensure that any unanswered
[1:34:21] questions will be followed
up. And I have a list of nine names to
[1:34:27] speak and I'll call them out according
to the way their name was in the order
[1:34:33] they were submitted. And I'd just like
to say for people standing up there,
[1:34:38] there's six or seven chairs. If you'd
like to come and sit here at the
[1:35:08] front Um, I'll probably ask you to come
up here so and speak at the mic so that
[1:35:16] people can hear you. And first we have
Trevor Bottle.
[1:35:45] Kathy Gray
[1:35:49] setbacks. You're happy.
[1:36:05] So my question
[1:36:14] on livestock trailers. So, some
livestock trailers have amenities in
[1:36:19] them, some don't. So, are they included
in this fee or not included in this
[1:36:24] licensing fee? And then the other part
of it is that this thing literally says
[1:36:29] no on any lands, no trailer can be
stored or maintained for more than 120
[1:36:36] days. My livestock trailer is on my
property 365 days a year unless I need
[1:36:41] it to transfer
[1:36:45] over and I don't agree to pay this
township or any other
[1:36:50] township on my own
[1:36:59] property. This is just not ours. Yeah,
that's your question. Yeah, thank you.
[1:37:05] Thanks for the question. or not, they
not do. Yeah. So, uh trailers, so this
[1:37:09] bylaw only deals with trailers on vacant
property, trailers on a property that
[1:37:14] already is a residence. So, if you have
a travel trailer that you park in the
[1:37:18] property, you have family that comes
over that stays with you for part of the
[1:37:21] summer, they use your travel trailer.
Absolutely. Nothing is changing about
[1:37:26] that. You are allowed. For sure. We can
ensure that's clear because the
[1:37:30] intention this makes it seem like I have
my voice or my
[1:37:43] I was just having chat. I'm asking them
to change the wording of this bylaw as
[1:37:48] far as how it reads right now. It seems
like you can only have your livestock
[1:37:54] trailer or your camper trailer stored or
maintained is what it says for 120 days
[1:37:59] on any property. So that is just not
specific enough to be and leaves way too
[1:38:06] much room for this council to
arbitrarily charge people
[1:38:18] not feedback. Obviously, if there's
ambiguity in the bylaw, we want to make
[1:38:23] sure that there's no ambiguity. It is
the only intention is to deal with
[1:38:27] trailers on on vacant property.
So,
[1:38:36] Davidson, do we have this question? You
can't remember question.
[1:38:51] Yeah, sure.
[1:39:32] [Music]
Uh, I guess my question was, um, I think
[1:39:38] you're trying to deal with some of these
issues. Um but every day I drive home
[1:39:44] and um to my left as I drive down my
road huge fields
[1:39:55] [Music]
um as far as I know
[1:40:07] there's bas
[1:40:13] and several
people. They use the road. They used a
[1:40:22] road in the winter. They use the grading
of the road to get to their houses and
[1:40:27] campers and cottages with um I don't
know codes, all those things. So, I have
[1:40:35] a little bit of concerns. I those
concerns over two years ago and nothing
[1:40:40] happened. I was told that there was a
bylaw from the township that dealt with
[1:40:45] that and that the matter would be being
dealt with. In the meantime, I believe
[1:40:50] there's at least two other
trailer that are unlicensed
[1:41:02] [Music]
unrely considered rental units in the
[1:41:05] township that are within the primary
residences are in other buildings are
[1:41:10] rented without boundary services being
supplied.
[1:41:15] is if is the objective to make it easier
to create new housing units as per
[1:41:19] provincial guidelines. This does not
make it easier. Current septic systems
[1:41:23] and primary residents may be able to
handle a bathroom in addition to primary
[1:41:28] resident current use. The Madawa
Conservation Authority would in all
[1:41:32] likelihood upon inspection establish
substantial septic upgrades if logging
[1:41:37] is included. This factor alone will not
encourage current homeowners in this
[1:41:41] township to want to create more
important which
[1:41:57] is next. You raised some important
concerns about uh how many failers we're
[1:42:03] seeing on vacant pieces of property. Uh
as I think we've stated many a time
[1:42:08] tonight. Uh there are noers for property
currently within the
[1:42:14] US. Is it happening? Absolutely. Um so
this bylaw that's before us
[1:42:21] tonight pause take a look at what was
currently uh in place. We're actually
[1:42:25] going to open up the opportunity for B
for trailers to be permitted one per lot
[1:42:31] in rural zones, but in Rusty areas, so
on lakefront properties or in the
[1:42:38] hamlets, trailers are not permitted.
They will be enforced that trailers are
[1:42:42] not to be forbidden on lakefront or in
the hamlets. I will turn it over to I
[1:42:48] believe Mike will speak to
the public official. you'll speak to the
[1:42:54] uh idea of the good evening. Uh so we
got a lot of questions about the laundry
[1:42:59] facilities in the building. So it's
regulated under the Ontario building
[1:43:03] code. So perhaps the building you speak
of was uh constructed prior to the code
[1:43:08] being implemented whatever. So the
building code says laundry facilities or
[1:43:14] space for
laundry shall be provided in every
[1:43:18] dwelling unit. um it doesn't necessarily
have to be in that unit if it's a
[1:43:23] secondary boiling attached as long as
it's in the building. It could be a
[1:43:27] shared laundry facilities but when it's
become a shared laundry facilities
[1:43:31] becomes complicated then that room has
to be fire separated from both units I
[1:43:37] can't
build unit back to the house that allows
[1:43:41] them to use my laundry. Yes. Yes, you
can. But now that laundry room must be
[1:43:46] also fire separated because it's a
shared shared laundry facility. Same
[1:43:51] thing if you had a shared entrance.
[1:43:56] Okay. But there's also the ceiling and
the floor, right? So there there's a
[1:44:01] possibility for it in the uh if you
build an ADU that's separated from the
[1:44:05] main buildings, that ADU must have
laundry facilities. And when it's washer
[1:44:10] and dryer, they put it in closets. Yeah.
It's not it's not washer and a dryer.
[1:44:18] Yes, you might you might you might be
adding fixture units, but the building
[1:44:22] code uh I can't I can't tell you don't
worry about it. It's a regulation under
[1:44:28] the code. There's even another part in
the code that says you have to provide
[1:44:33] electrical facility or gas or propane to
accommodate it. So there grants
[1:44:37] available the homeowner to that so they
can upgrade. So, just so everybody
[1:44:43] knows, I heard about the VSAP program
and there's two people in this community
[1:44:47] that I talked to. They can get up to 50
grand for a secondary dwelling and they
[1:44:52] both got it. They're both getting
$50,000 free,
[1:44:57] right?
[1:45:01] So, it's good. The federal federal
government also has a program for
[1:45:05] varying super interest rates for if you
want to create additional volumes,
[1:45:10] right?
couple years out back here.
[1:45:14] So, I'm just saying the federal
government has a program for super low
[1:45:18] interest rates if you want to create
additional dwelling units. And there's
[1:45:21] two people in uh there's two people in
this community that I spoke to and
[1:45:26] they're getting $50,000 each for having
created uh additional. So, there's a
[1:45:32] possibility of two u two recipients and
they both got it. So,
[1:45:39] [Music]
Okay, the question who's up next?
[1:45:44] Uh, Jessica Chris Shepard. Additional
units and shipping containers. Come on
[1:45:51] down.
Princess,
[1:46:09] right? So, regarding the RV bylaw, um we
find the amendments very ambiguous. Um
[1:46:17] at what point, at one point they were
allowed in the bylaw, the 201249 on your
[1:46:22] property if it is not a vacant lot.
[1:46:31] It
says, yeah, 3.22 of the bylaw, which
[1:46:37] I've confused why you're saying allowed.
says no recreational vehicle shall be
[1:46:41] used within the municipality for a
period of more than 90 days and then 10
[1:46:46] consecutive months
relies. So it was allowed by the way I'm
[1:46:52] reading it as long as it was 90 days and
10 months.
[1:46:59] Yeah.
Um and then
[1:47:04] um
25-9 the section says requires a license
[1:47:08] just like the RV used on vacant land. Um
question what is the purpose of the
[1:47:16] amendments? Is it to provide an income
to the township through the annual fee
[1:47:21] or is it a concern for our environment
requiring septic copic or sewage pumping
[1:47:26] or is it something else? Um, but most
citizens are requesting.
[1:47:37] Yeah. So, let's start those questions.
[Music]
[1:47:43] Do you want us to
[1:48:01] Sorry. So in your questions, you have
questions about additional dwelling
[1:48:05] units and storage containers as well as
the trailers. So the trailers are after
[1:48:09] the presentation for trailers. So we'll
address those questions after, but if
[1:48:12] you can move on to the additional
dwelling units and the containers.
[1:48:17] Okay. Addition additional dwelling units
have been in this township for many
[1:48:21] years. Um, I think we've covered
granny's all the jargon. Um, they are
[1:48:27] not used for full-time occupation, nor
are they typically for seasons. Some
[1:48:31] have all amenities such as running water
and full kitchenetss and bathrooms, and
[1:48:35] some are used to sleep additional
cooking only. Since these ADUs already
[1:48:38] exist, will this bylaw a limit require
them to obtain a building permit and or
[1:48:44] be removed? Question. And some of these
units were built over 100 years ago. Why
[1:48:49] would this township not grandfather
these units into this
[1:49:00] by so you've um the one is since the
ADUs already exist then why would we
[1:49:08] remove them um so ADUs have not been
permitted what is permitted are
[1:49:14] secondary dwellings garden suites and in
the RLS they're also allowed to have a
[1:49:19] guest cabin. A guest cabin
is which is used for providing sleeping
[1:49:25] accommodations but no sanitary or
kitchen facilities. So if there are
[1:49:31] facilities like that, they're not
allowed. They were there. Nobody was
[1:49:35] there. But they are not allowed permits.
So they were probably built without
[1:49:38] permits. They were probably built
without permissions. So they can't be
[1:49:41] grandfathered in because they're not
legal. They were there for years.
[1:49:47] Wait. Well, they've never if if they
don't have a permit and they're not of
[1:49:52] permitted use. I said earlier that
zoning bylaws are an
[1:49:57] exclusive government body bylaw. So in
those bylaws, unless it explicitly
[1:50:02] states it's allowed, it is not allowed.
So what was explicitly allowed was
[1:50:06] secondary dwellings, garden suites, and
the RLS zone had guest cabins and they
[1:50:11] were defined. So they're very defined.
Bies is not defined in our zoning bylaw.
[1:50:16] Yes, they exist. We know this. As long
as they don't have sanitary or kitchen,
[1:50:22] then they will fall
under. We know that they exist in there.
[1:50:28] Absolutely. They do exist.
They do exist. So, in RLS zone, you are
[1:50:35] allowed to have a guest cabin. So, they
will fall under a guest cabin. But they
[1:50:41] everybody calls them monkeys but that is
nothing like and the zone is technically
[1:50:46] a guest cover.
[1:50:50] Yeah. So the RLS refers to Okay. So what
if you're in the rural
[1:51:02] zone? So the rural zone allowed
secondary dwellings and garden suites.
[1:51:07] So we don't know of any garden suites.
We have not found any agreements. So if
[1:51:11] there are secondary dwellings, a
secondary dwelling is attached to your
[1:51:14] house. So one wall has to be attached
from the secondary to the primary house.
[1:51:19] So if there were secondary dwellings on
your
[1:51:22] property, then they do not meet zoning.
So on a case by case that that does
[1:51:27] happen to anyone, you can certainly come
into the office, talk to Simon and our
[1:51:32] planning department can help so that we
can do a legal non-conforming status if
[1:51:36] it applies. There's no permit. No, it
exists. I can't. It's case by case and I
[1:51:41] can't promise anything. It would have I
would have to look at the the property
[1:51:45] itself.
No additional cost dwelling that's
[1:51:50] there. It should be approved. Does it
have two dwellings on your property? If
[1:51:54] a dwelling was purch or was was built
without a permit without any built
[1:52:01] before I got there. Yeah. So, we would
have to look at that case by case. So
[1:52:05] you kind there there would be a process
in order to do that but we can certainly
[1:52:09] look at doing that for you.
[1:52:14] And just to address that one thing um
I'm an environmental engineer and place
[1:52:19] regulation all the time and the absence
of regulation saying that it's not
[1:52:24] permitted or that something is permitted
is not that it's not peritted. If it
[1:52:29] doesn't state that it's not
permitted, then there's nothing to say.
[1:52:41] Containers storage buildings are a great
way of cleaning your yard and safely
[1:52:45] securing your tools, equipment, and
materials. They look good and can be
[1:52:49] extremely handy to the property owner.
My first question would be why does this
[1:52:55] council need a bylaw to regulate sea
containers slash storage buildings?
[1:53:00] That's question
one. Since C containers are the most
[1:53:04] basic and
secure secure temporary storage that is
[1:53:11] very easily moved for both the homeowner
and the township. Uh why would the
[1:53:15] township promote the use
of not promote the use of sea containers
[1:53:20] by not regulating them other than
meeting setbacks and accessibility?
[1:53:27] Thank you. What a a great opportunity
again to clarify position. Currently
[1:53:32] shipping containers are not permitted
over certain size. We're moving forward
[1:53:36] with permitting them. So we agree with
you. It's a great storage solution. It's
[1:53:40] safe. It's secure. If it's under Mike,
how many square feet?
[1:53:46] 161.4. So it's
161.4. There's no permit required.
[1:53:51] Anything over that? Yes. Required, but
that's in the building that
[1:53:57] us on their property. Been there for
years.
[1:54:02] Sir, I guess the only thing the only
thing I can draw back to is what I've
[1:54:06] said. We are being asked to enforce
bylaws equitably and equally across the
[1:54:13] community by many people. So if you have
done something or if somebody is doing
[1:54:17] something illegal, it's hard for us,
it's impossible for us to say that it's
[1:54:22] legal non-conforming in order for it to
be legal
[1:54:25] non-conforming to be legal. So it puts
us in a position of wanting to make sure
[1:54:30] that we are already changing the the
bylaw for trailers. So, if for the uh
[1:54:38] shipping containers, so if a shipping
container is on your property, um my
[1:54:42] guess is Mike's not going to be coming
to your property to ask you to remove or
[1:54:45] move your your shipping container before
this bylaw is passed. Well, a lot of
[1:54:51] things are permitted with, as you saw,
the proper setbacks and we want to make
[1:54:55] sure that they look good for our
community. We've heard lots of feedback
[1:54:58] about that. whether they could paint it
or whether if it's too close to the road
[1:55:02] that it's you know covered with tree
line or fencing or siding. So there's
[1:55:06] there's opportunities to have
[1:55:14] candes. Why would it be a problem for
this? It's it's not a problem
[1:55:20] for we're on the same page. That's
fantastic.
[1:55:25] Correct. It's not if we pass this bylaw,
we're allowing shipping containers on
[1:55:31] properties.
[1:55:34] Well, you need a building permit. Well,
you need a permit. Why? I'm not building
[1:55:37] a container. Because that's the Ontario
building code, sir. That's not the
[1:55:41] township of Bfield, Julie. I
[1:55:48] don't might have
[1:55:55] Yeah. So you mentioned no shipping
containers were are allowed and again I
[1:56:01] read through the whole bylaw current
bylaw and I didn't see any
[1:56:05] mention. So I'm just curious.
[1:56:14] So again, it's not specific, but you're
saying,
[1:56:20] as as the building official said or
somebody said, if somebody has a
[1:56:25] shipping container on the property,
that's under the requirements for a
[1:56:29] building permit under the side that that
is permitted. What we're now permitting
[1:56:34] is large. So that will continue and
we're permitting larger cands to be on
[1:56:40] people's problems. So we are very
much. We can't grandfather something
[1:56:46] that has never had when it needed a
permit before. Didn't need a permit
[1:56:50] before.
Well, I don't know what to tell you.
[1:56:54] That's the province. So,
thank you very much. Who's
[1:57:00] next? Who's next?
Wesley.
[1:57:06] Wesley.
[1:57:11] Okay, I believe there's no
[1:57:19] [Music]
[1:57:29] westman.
[1:57:42] Should I go give you my information
first or talk?
[1:57:59] Hello there. My name is Carmen Jan. Uh
here now. Good. Okay.
[1:58:07] Um I live on Top Pond Road.
Um a previous lady has covered some of
[1:58:15] my
concerns. Uh one of the things I wanted
[1:58:19] to speak about is the RVs and use of
them and again uh that was cleared up.
[1:58:28] So, it was very vague in the
description. Now, it's cleared up. So, I
[1:58:34] know if you're going to have a dwelling
um on your property, you can keep your
[1:58:40] RVs
[Music]
[1:58:42] and Okay.
[Music]
[1:58:51] Um, also I I was questioning uh I
noticed some fees about RVs, but again I
[1:58:59] think that was cleared up. That's
concerning vacant plant. Okay, that's
[1:59:06] how come it was so vague. I was
questioning
[1:59:17] And there was a mention about
um inspections on the RVs and trailers
[1:59:26] as you see
fit. I found I found that a
[1:59:32] little rude in so many ways as to say
you can show up anytime and inspect
[1:59:38] something.
me.
[1:59:48] And just as a background, I worked in
the justice system for many
[1:59:53] years and I know that the way that was
worded
[1:59:58] uh is not really legit.
[2:00:10] [Music]
[2:00:18] I've always stated how much I've been
here for over 20 years and I love this
[2:00:24] community. I love the peace and quiet,
friendliness.
[2:00:29] Um but again when it comes to the amount
of taxes we do pay
[2:00:36] uh we get very little
services. Um I do understand the cost of
[2:00:45] uh maintaining. I know that's quite
expensive. I was very glad to hear that
[2:00:49] you have equipment.
Um, and again, a lot of these fees I
[2:00:56] found when it came to
[2:01:03] um, Airbnbs or whatever.
Um, I've known many of my friends and
[2:01:12] and colleagues that have these things
and they've never had to pay fees. They
[2:01:17] pay more house
insurance because they're renting their
[2:01:22] home to the
public, but I don't think the township
[2:01:28] should take charge of dealing with stuff
like this and charging fees when people
[2:01:36] own their property and they also pay
more insurance to offer an Airbnb
[2:01:44] service.
[2:01:53] Thanks. A few different things to touch
on. Uh so I will call on a couple of
[2:01:58] different people if that's okay. Um let
me just go through messing. So
[2:02:04] uh matter of RVs we've cleared up. Do
not understand these
[2:02:14] property. Let's see here. Inspections on
vehicles uh on property as we see fit.
[2:02:20] So again, I'll just reiterate. I'll go
back to the uh
[2:02:25] uh to the trailer bylaw, we will go back
through our intention is to make sure
[2:02:31] that it's clear and if it obviously
missed the mark, uh we will we will
[2:02:36] ensure that we clean that up before
anything that's final. Um I will ask
[2:02:40] Mike to perhaps come forward and speak
about the inspections and the
[2:02:44] authorities that are granted to us and
inspect. So I'm chief official and also
[2:02:51] the officer under the municipal
under the mal act and uh the building
[2:02:58] code act and several other acts. Um I
have access to your prop like whatever
[2:03:03] council decides is going to be the
bylaw. I have access to your properties
[2:03:06] your reasonable time of day. Right.
[2:03:23] So we under this legislation we do have
the right to and especially for
[2:03:26] enforcing the bylaws. We do not go on
property. We are not these are not meant
[2:03:32] to be intrusive. So, if you apply for a
trailer bylaw, you are going to make a
[2:03:36] number of like statements in it. When
you apply for a short-term rental,
[2:03:40] you're going to make a number of
statements in that. Then, our inspector
[2:03:44] will go to make sure that what you said
is is accurate and truthful. And that is
[2:03:48] all that those bylaws are intending to
do. So, there's even sections in there
[2:03:52] that say that, you know, he will arrange
consent with the owners that you are
[2:03:56] there when he goes to to do the
inspection or that you have somebody
[2:04:00] there, then he will go and look at
those. They're not meant to be
[2:04:03] intrusive. You'll see in the trailer and
the short-term rental presentation um
[2:04:08] that we specifically say like we're not
looking for building code infractions.
[2:04:13] We're not looking to say that your your
house built 10 years ago doesn't meet
[2:04:18] the building code today. So, you have to
do a number of changes. That's not the
[2:04:21] intent. The intent is that your
application says what is there and that
[2:04:26] he can then sign his name to say yes, I
have checked and this is what it is. he
[2:04:31] issues the license, he needs to make
sure that what he's issuing is correct.
[2:04:36] Does the only it doesn't
[2:04:44] [Music]
[2:04:51] witnesses talking about this one?
I didn't hear the full question, but is
[2:04:57] it inspections for a trailer or short?
[2:05:02] Inspection.
[2:05:14] We'll look into that.
I I don't know the details. I can't
[2:05:18] answer to that. I can't speak to it. I
don't know the details, but I'm sure
[2:05:21] that I'll look into that. Okay. And who
might be next?
[2:05:25] Gina
[2:05:30] Langu and Hunts.
Gina. Oh, there she
[2:05:36] is. Gina is also a member of our
planning advisor. That's a lot of great
[2:05:41] work. So, here you go. Thank you.
[2:06:10] As mentioned, I'm an appointed member of
the planning advisory committee and I
[2:06:16] started almost two years ago and I've
been been a member of the community for
[2:06:21] over 35 years.
So um my comments so I I may have a lot
[2:06:28] of input for planning advisory committee
and into a lot of discussions and
[2:06:35] usually I'm known as one of the ones who
is kind of a devil advocate
[2:06:41] uh to take in the opinions of everyone
and try to remain unbiased. So I find
[2:06:48] bylaws in general are very restrictive
and often the most restrictive bylaw
[2:06:54] contents are used from other
municipalities in our
[2:07:01] municipality and also I feel that
council seems not to have the time to
[2:07:06] fully review and understand the full
impact of such
[2:07:10] recommendations. I had suggested to some
council members that they should suggest
[2:07:15] to the CEO that the number of documents
preferred for a council meeting so that
[2:07:20] proper time can be committed to council
members and to the public in order to
[2:07:25] have time to view um and uh prepare for
a question or prepare for the meeting.
[2:07:32] Uh I think like this full agenda for
town hall is an example of a lot we're
[2:07:38] meeting
[2:07:43] American example is extensive list of of
building fee increases that was
[2:07:48] presented to council. It is it's kind of
hard to believe that you would think
[2:07:54] that a 90 900 square foot dwelling
should be the same fee and cost as a
[2:08:00] 2400 square foot uh
dwelling $4,000.
[2:08:08] So it doesn't seem to seem fair to the
person building a 900 square foot
[2:08:14] well. Uh also the fee was 5K originally
and put to 4K after complaint and thanks
[2:08:22] to two members in the community came out
to a council meeting and at least able
[2:08:28] addressed. So, it's important for all of
us to go to council meetings and address
[2:08:34] concerns and uh a minimum paint decrease
from the tenant volumes. So, it appeared
[2:08:42] no consideration was taken for
affordable housing for builders to come
[2:08:46] to our township to develop or build with
the fee schedule.
[2:08:51] Will this fee schedule be reooked at for
building permit fees and building fees
[2:08:58] for
AGUs? And unfortunately, it um a member
[2:09:03] of our community did go out and um go to
other communities and uh did a lot of
[2:09:11] data research and was found that our
current fees were higher.
[2:09:16] So um what is and another thing is why
is it that RL zone with the highest tax
[2:09:24] base and these services always seems to
be targeted.
[2:09:34] Yeah, no wind gas, no trailers, no
ADU. Uh we're all for the
[2:09:41] environment. Um we, you know, we live on
the lake. We're like to all be
[2:09:47] responsible people. The majority I would
I would say that we are. And uh it's our
[2:09:54] lake. It's our area. It's where we it's
where we play,
[2:09:59] swim. Um so
um so why are we treated differently
[2:10:06] like anyone else in other zones? And
what really is the issue? Is it seen as
[2:10:12] another? It is seen as another
barrier and not uh and it seems m
[2:10:19] municipalities not given its
support. Although secondary dwellings,
[2:10:24] guest cab and garden suites have been
allowed since
[2:10:27] 2015. Um it is being uh except for
garden suites. However, we don't know
[2:10:35] what the new OP will bring. official
plan. Uh I'm going to be back here
[2:10:40] fighting, not fighting, but discussing
um RL zones being allowed to do
[2:10:48] that. Uh waterfront property is
expensive and it's an aging population.
[2:10:53] So if it was your intent to be looked
after by others to be able to stay in
[2:10:58] your home because your home is on water
waterfront, you may not be able to stay
[2:11:03] in your home and your aging plan may
have relied on a second dwelling or a
[2:11:09] garden suite. both folks in an RLS zone
that may not happen. As in PCO and
[2:11:16] planning administration recommendation
to council it states despite this
[2:11:21] concession it is consensus and planning
that ADUs are not permitted along
[2:11:26] waterfront properties in northern
Ontario staff continue to support the
[2:11:31] proposed amendment
um for detached ADUs in the RLS zone. It
[2:11:38] will be interesting to see what does uh
transpire for the secondary dwellings
[2:11:45] especially as there was a lot of
discussion even in the new op to even uh
[2:11:52] have a sleep cabin. So it it still has
to be discussed. We will only have it in
[2:11:59] the 2013 but what will happen with the
new official uh plan comes out. I know
[2:12:06] there's a lot of talk about the water
capacity in North Bay Manwalk
[2:12:10] Conservation Authority, but I thought
that um as long as North Bay
[2:12:16] Conservation Authority or any other
authority has no uh um problem with this
[2:12:24] um having an additional dwelling or um
or a
[2:12:30] trailer, why should not
[2:12:40] And I don't understand the exchange of
PAC's recommendation of one hector uh
[2:12:45] for a hunt count of 10 25 hectares. Not
only do people leave their lands to hunt
[2:12:51] on crown land, many are given permission
to hunt on private lands. This was done
[2:12:57] with one person's recommend a one
person's comment to municipal staff
[2:13:02] according to the recommendation of staff
to council. How did that happen? It was
[2:13:08] not the recommendation of PAC to
council. Um at this time uh am I allowed
[2:13:17] to speak to trailers?
[2:13:23] Okay. As I as I've mentioned in in many
PAC meetings
[2:13:29] um we require more discussions and um to
not uh to find solutions so that we
[2:13:37] don't have so many
constraints. Uh like I mentioned I
[2:13:41] always try to keep an unbiased opinion
and in PAC as well everyone is under
[2:13:48] challenging times and these constraints
can add to everyday stresses.
[2:13:54] Uh although some some people would like
to see milliondoll homes, housing sales
[2:14:00] data does not show that it is the market
for Bondville. More people are into
[2:14:05] homesteading, rural living, and a
simpler life and enjoying what our area
[2:14:11] provides in recreational and rural
living.
[2:14:22] Thank you.
Thanks.
[2:14:32] Right. Okay. There's a lot in here. So,
you should say
[2:14:37] just first. Thank you for your
contributions to the planning advisory
[2:14:41] committee. She is correct. She um does a
very good job of making sure that all of
[2:14:45] those bylaws and all of the points when
we're crafting them are well thought
[2:14:51] out. Sorry. Yes.
[2:14:55] Um uh I also think I think
[2:15:04] so um why is it that the RLS zone does
not have head cams, no trailers and no
[2:15:09] edus? Um so as we discussed earlier that
we did hear through our surveys that our
[2:15:15] lakes rivers and forests are important
to everyone. We do have an email as you
[2:15:21] know from the North Bay man conservation
authority the planners the person who
[2:15:25] has the authority we whenever there's a
planning application that the
[2:15:28] municipality looks at we are mandated to
send it to the conservation authority
[2:15:32] they provide a planning opinion on that
and that's what we have to take as the
[2:15:36] authority. So we have to abide by the
initial the the email that we have is
[2:15:41] that ADU should not be permitted in the
RLS zones because they are not factored
[2:15:46] into the capacity. So Lake Island is at
capacity and we can't sever any more
[2:15:51] lots off of that. So is at capacity. We
need to do more studies and until those
[2:15:55] studies are done we cannot have
additional dwellings on those
[2:15:59] properties. So we hope as you know at at
pack and at the council we did discuss
[2:16:05] that once the north rock conservation
authority has the resources and the
[2:16:11] staff in place that we will be looking
at and pushing for them to do those
[2:16:14] studies. We're also looking at hiring or
or working with other universities to
[2:16:20] see if we might be able to be doing
programs under environmental so they can
[2:16:24] also help us get those studies done
faster. But until those studies are
[2:16:27] done, we are very limited of what we're
allowed to do.
[2:16:32] I thought at the meeting I thought it
was from one employee at North Bay Manaw
[2:16:38] Conservation Authority and then I
thought that North Bay Manawa
[2:16:42] Conservation Authority uh was not ready
to commit to that to what that one
[2:16:49] employee said.
[2:16:55] We'll have an email that employee was
the person who had the authority to give
[2:16:59] us the information. I do not have
something in writing from the North
[2:17:04] Conservation Authority to withdraw those
comments. We've asked um you'll know
[2:17:08] that we asked that member from the North
Conservation to come to the planning
[2:17:12] advisory committee so that he could
explain it to us and he was not allowed
[2:17:16] to come. So, they are going through a
restructuring right now and as soon as
[2:17:19] they have that done, then we can
certainly reook at doing these things.
[2:17:22] But at this time we have to go by what
they told us to do. But we could since
[2:17:27] he's left someone could like say if
someone wanted a
[2:17:32] secondary dwelling tomorrow they could
go
[2:17:37] to she's saying that if somebody wanted
a secondary dwelling in the RLS they
[2:17:41] could go to North Bay conservation and
yes that is what we talked about earlier
[2:17:45] where we said that we do not change the
rules in the RLS. So the RLS is allowed
[2:17:49] to have a secondary dwelling. Again the
primary and secondary have to share a
[2:17:53] wall but it cannot have a detached
additional dwelling unit. So we left the
[2:17:58] secondary dwelling in the RLS because
there is a we can't speak today. Um and
[2:18:06] we once that is is rectified and we have
the answers then we can we can report
[2:18:11] but until we have that we can't change
what they've given us.
[2:18:16] So, and some of your other
questions, I know we'll get to the
[2:18:21] trailers after. We've already explained
the hunt camp and we are still looking
[2:18:26] for opinions. So, if you have an opinion
on what the size of a hunting property
[2:18:29] should be, please make sure to contact
council, contact the staff and let us
[2:18:34] know what you feel that that would be
the most appropriate land.
[2:18:38] Yes. Why did one change? Right. So at
the planning advisory committee staff
[2:18:44] did not recommend a 2.5 acre property or
camp. So the plan advisory committee
[2:18:51] staff did not recommend that
staff did not recommend that to the
[2:18:57] planning advisory
committee. We feel that a staff that is
[2:19:02] the same size as a building lot. We want
our building lots to be used for homes,
[2:19:06] not for hunt camps. We did do a survey
of all of the lands around Crownland and
[2:19:11] there are no properties in Crownland
that are 2.5 acres. So it's
[2:19:16] not no we don't want people to divide
land to have four campgrounds on 100
[2:19:22] acres. We'd rather have houses on those
and then if they go to me landing then
[2:19:28] they can still but they have to have a
bigger and it did get changed. uh staff
[2:19:33] didn't re didn't support the
recommendation of pack recommendation
[2:19:37] went forward but
counselor asked about it. It was
[2:19:42] discovered that staff did not give that
information to council. Council needs to
[2:19:46] hear both sides in order to make an
informed decision just like we're asking
[2:19:49] you to do tonight. Tell us what you
think the size of that law is. What
[2:19:53] should a hunting property be? So it's
just to make an informed decision. We're
[2:19:57] open to ideas.
[2:20:01] I'll just add um to Gina's point, yes,
this is a long evening. There is a ton
[2:20:06] of information coming at you. Uh this is
the second town hall meeting that we've
[2:20:11] had in this council. I don't believe uh
previous councils have done town hall
[2:20:15] meetings like this, but we want to be
open and have a conversation with their
[2:20:19] constituents. So, here we are. I would
also just say we meet every two weeks as
[2:20:25] council. It's an open public meeting.
You're all welcome to join. I'm not sure
[2:20:29] the town hall will hold as many people,
but we would love to hear from you on
[2:20:33] any of the items that are important to
you as well as well. Uh we all have
[2:20:39] business cards that have mine has my
cell phone number on it. Uh it's
[2:20:44] available in the front hall of the uh uh
of the town hall. Uh my cell phone
[2:20:49] number I put out in social media. I
encourage, as I know other counselors do
[2:20:54] and the mayor,
please, please reach out, reach out and
[2:20:59] have a conversation with us. We would be
more than happy to have a conversation
[2:21:02] and answer any questions.
[2:21:16] She had one last question for ADUs and
the building permits and we've not
[2:21:19] addressed that yet. So that will come to
council um within the
[2:21:24] next we can do um all of the the user
fees and the permit fees we can't do
[2:21:29] until the bylaws are actually passed. So
once our class we know what is the
[2:21:34] what's in the B what are the provisions
that's when we can look at the rest of
[2:21:37] the implementation act
[2:21:42] [Music]
[2:22:08] Can everyone hear me?
Hello virtual counselors.
[2:22:16] In the last year and a half that I've
been following the township and of
[2:22:19] Bonfield council and CEO, I have found
that matters are not being presented to
[2:22:23] our community members in an obvious and
easily
[2:22:27] understandable
way. Tonight I am speaking to all the
[2:22:32] folks who are living in or own property
in RLS zone. To simplify things, we
[2:22:37] consider that RLSO mainly refers to
waterfront property. So right now, if
[2:22:43] you have a waterfront property, you are
allowed a secondary dwelling unit and a
[2:22:47] garden suite. Been that way since
2013. If you have read and understood
[2:22:53] the proposed changes from the township
website, you will see they are
[2:22:57] attempting to remove this right. In
addition to this, they are developing a
[2:23:01] bylaw that allows homeowners to build
additional dwelling units on their
[2:23:05] property, but they have excluded this in
If they are truly allowing secondary
[2:23:14] dwelling units in RLS zone, it would be
added to this by which it's not. DAO may
[2:23:21] tell you, don't worry, we're alleviating
the secondary dwelling units in the
[2:23:24] current bylaw plan. But keep in mind
that once the new plan and zoning
[2:23:29] bylaws, which we haven't seen the final
draft of yet, once it's passed, they
[2:23:34] will take the place of the government
and they have made no guarantees that
[2:23:38] your rights will remain.
If this passes, you will likely be
[2:23:43] losing your ability to have additional
living quarters on your property. So, if
[2:23:47] you want to put in a granny suite for
your elderly parents,
[2:23:51] um have a place for a caregiver when
you're older or somewhere for your
[2:23:55] children to reside, you will likely no
longer be allowed. The CAO and planning
[2:24:00] clerk have also said in meetings that my
wall conservation has restricted this
[2:24:04] because the lake is at capacity, but
this is false. If you read the official
[2:24:09] plan from the township for 2013, you'll
see that this already speaks to the
[2:24:13] lakes being at capacity, it says that
Madawan Conservation Authority has to
[2:24:18] make sure that septic systems for new
builds and renovations meet the
[2:24:21] standards and will not impact the lake.
That's their job. Under the Conservation
[2:24:26] Authorities Act, it is the
responsibility of the conservation
[2:24:29] authority, not municipality, to regulate
development in andor near re rivers,
[2:24:34] streams, flood planes, and wetlands.
They specifically say that if you're
[2:24:39] building changing, increasing the size
of the building or adding dwelling
[2:24:43] units, you may need a permit. They will
come to your property, look at things
[2:24:48] like slope, drainage, building location,
vegetation, existing septic proposed
[2:24:55] septic site. They will determine whether
or not you can go ahead with it because
[2:24:59] they are the
experts. Keep in mind that Madawa
[2:25:03] conservation review is required before
the township of Bonfield can get
[2:25:07] involved and issue a building permit.
That's straight from the website. So if
[2:25:12] they find your septic is not good enough
for a secondary dwelling unit, they will
[2:25:16] not give your project
going. Why is the township assuming
[2:25:20] expertise in this matter? Why is the
township imposing these heavy
[2:25:24] restrictions on community members in the
RLS zone? I am here to implore council
[2:25:30] to prove they are allowing secondary
dwelling units in RS zone by including
[2:25:34] this zone in the additional dwelling
units bylaw. I am respectfully
[2:25:39] requesting that you recognize that you
are not the environmental experts
[2:25:48] here. Thank you for your time.
[2:26:06] So, as Laura explained, yes, we have
secondary funds in the RLS. We're not
[2:26:11] taking away any right that you currently
have that is still allowed in the RS.
[2:26:15] It's still in the current zone by law.
Um in regard to the Northland
[2:26:22] Conservation Authority, we as I said
before, we do have um an email a
[2:26:27] document from them when we ask for them
to provide comments. We have to abide by
[2:26:32] what they say and it's not just about
there and North Bay conservation is also
[2:26:38] charged with looking after the natural
heritage and we actually pay the North
[2:26:41] Bay Conservation Authority to help us
with those guidelines. So those are what
[2:26:45] we use.
[2:26:58] just to add to that. So all applicable
laws, that's the term, right? So within
[2:27:02] the Ontario building code, I don't know
if Mike wants to speak to that, but we
[2:27:05] are legally required to consult with and
to abide by the advice of the North
[2:27:10] Conservation Authority. So it's not an
arbitrary decision of ourselves. We're
[2:27:15] not claiming to be environmental experts
as smuggers do have background in this
[2:27:20] um but um we are after consultation
advisory committee put in that policy on
[2:27:27] pause. So you will still have your
secondary dwelling suit that will be
[2:27:30] permitted but there'll be a case by case
basis. So there still involve the north
[2:27:34] bay master conservation priority as it
would for any application anyway. Even
[2:27:38] if it's bylaws and passed, they would
still be required to come do an
[2:27:42] assessment of the property and guide you
and tell you whether you could
[2:27:45] accommodate that unit or not. So nothing
has changed.
[2:27:53] I can't guarantee anything and I don't
say that to be suspicious in any way. We
[2:27:58] have to do these late capacity studies.
There's other people, yes, some people
[2:28:02] proponents more development in the
waterfront. Other people write to us and
[2:28:05] say they're deeply concerned by the
algae blues and that we can't swim in
[2:28:09] those lakes anymore. So we our duty as a
council is to balance all these
[2:28:13] perspectives.
[2:28:21] Cameron Cameron
[2:28:27] Cameron
Cameron. Okay, that was the last one.
[2:28:33] Are we opening it up for some questions?
Yeah, new any new questions on top.
[2:28:39] Hopefully we answered many of them, but
happy to take some questions. I will
[2:28:42] just be cognizant of it's 9:30. We still
have more to go. So, if it's repeat
[2:28:47] questions, hopefully, you know, we limit
those.
[2:28:52] Hi, I just have a one question kind of
regarding Doug's um Doug's statements
[2:28:57] there. I drive past those same places
and it's been several years and several
[2:29:02] complaints and no enforcement. I want to
hear from council how they're going to
[2:29:08] guarantee enforcement of this stuff.
[2:29:13] Thank you. Um absolutely fair points.
This has been something that we heard in
[2:29:18] the last election. Uh we wanted to get
this bylaw passed and we will be asking
[2:29:23] for enforcement. So, uh, our viol
enforcement officer, Mike, will be
[2:29:28] charged with, uh, extending those
properties with trailers illegally, uh,
[2:29:32] working with the property owners to have
those trailers removed. Uh, and and
[2:29:37] that's that's the path forward for sure.
So, you will be seeing enforcement uh,
[2:29:42] in the coming coming months.
[2:29:47] And we will say it's not happening
overnight. I mean obviously you know you
[2:29:51] provide notice sometimes there legal
issues sometimes there but I think
[2:29:56] promise you that we're going to be
actively working on this new study
[2:30:00] councelor Corbett I'm sorry the name and
address oh sorry you mind just name
[2:30:05] address
I just need your
[2:30:21] My name and
address. Jesus Murphy. I've been here
[2:30:25] for 45 almost 50 years. But Andre, you
know where I live. Anyway, uh thank you
[2:30:33] very much. I'm not going to take much
time. I just have a few little talking
[2:30:37] points. I'm Karen Gier.
Uh myself and my husband have had this
[2:30:44] red and white for over 45 years. Uh I
just want to say that uh hopefully it's
[2:30:51] going to open this year soon. We're
really really happy with that.
[2:30:58] it wasn't for all of you supporting us
from Britain. But I can say the same
[2:31:03] about uh the council, the current
council, I'm very very sorry, but um
[2:31:08] it's been 17 months and not one of you
except for the mayor have come up to us
[2:31:15] and said, "Geez, um is there anything we
can do or or sorry for your lot, you
[2:31:21] know, sorry, you know, and uh not one
not one and we're a proud family. So you
[2:31:29] know what kind of form of collection we
got. So that's not very nice you know in
[2:31:35] a small community. But I just want to
say I don't really have any questions
[2:31:41] but I do want to just
emphasize the uh the atmosphere we're
[2:31:47] living in in this world right at this
moment. Number one the pandemic. It's
[2:31:52] only been five years since we've got out
of it. And to date, people are still
[2:31:58] feeling the mental effects of
it. Trade war. We're in the middle of a
[2:32:03] trade
war. We're right in the middle of it
[2:32:07] with our closest ally, the US survey.
We're also dealing with threats on our
[2:32:13] sovereignty. Economic upheaval. We are
feeling the effects of a global economic
[2:32:18] shift in our
world. Inflation. Inflation is up to
[2:32:24] 2.6%. 6% as of today. That means higher
groceries,
[2:32:30] uh, higher bills all around. All around.
So, with all of this happening, you
[2:32:36] know, I was thinking of all this this
morning, we're it's certainly not the
[2:32:40] time for our local council and more
unrealistic threats and demands coming
[2:32:49] from you people that we have voted for.
and and you are you're you're here to
[2:32:59] represent us. Uh not not threaten us
with
[2:33:04] $25,000 first offense, $50,000 for the
second offense.
[2:33:12] Exactly. Council should be assisting the
taxpayers. I have heard that there is
[2:33:17] some assistance, which is wonderful to
hear. This is what I'm here for, to
[2:33:20] hear, to see, and to participate.
Um, but guys, you have to understand
[2:33:29] this is a small community and and we're
a proud community and you have to assist
[2:33:35] us, not throw these threats at us and
just try to help us. We'll try to help
[2:33:41] you if you can try to help us. Okay? But
there is a petition. There is a petition
[2:33:47] that's going around tonight and the
petition does say very good about what's
[2:33:52] happening and um I know that if there's
enough signatures some of these bylaws
[2:33:58] will not be passed. I know that and so
does most of the people in this hall. So
[2:34:05] please uh just consider everything I've
said. Okay. Thank you very much.
[2:34:14] Thank you very much.
[2:34:22] Um, just curious, um, as a community, do
we get to vote on these bylaws? Because
[2:34:28] I'm a single mom and all the financials
coming my way, I'm feeling extremely
[2:34:34] bullied on my own.
[2:34:42] The best way to engage in this process
is to be here tonight to bring your
[2:34:46] comments forward for council here to
engage with your individual council
[2:34:49] members or mayor. Share your
comments. Democracy takes time. We've
[2:34:54] been working on this for two years. Uh
we want to engage with individuals
[2:34:59] including yourself. I will give you my
business cardio for you. I will give you
[2:35:03] that. happy to have any conversation
with you about your thoughts as I know
[2:35:07] my other fellow counselors and mayors
will be also happy to have those
[2:35:11] conversations. Our goal is not to stifle
or to infringe on your property. What we
[2:35:18] have trying to do is actually open up
the ability for more things to happen on
[2:35:23] your property. So we're not
[2:35:28] allowed not. So right now, right now the
option
[2:35:34] is, you know, we we change nothing and
then the bylaws get enforced and you
[2:35:40] lose the trailers off your real
properties or the bylaws get enforced
[2:35:43] and you have to take shipping containers
off of your property if they require
[2:35:47] building code. We think that's
unreasonable. So we're trying to open
[2:35:50] up. Council is open to the idea of
wanting to allow you to do more on your
[2:35:54] property than you're currently able to
do. Why it feels restrictive is because
[2:35:59] this municipality has turned a blind eye
to applying rules equitably for far too
[2:36:05] long. So does it feel heavy-handed?
Sure. But the reality is is the exact
[2:36:10] opposite. We're actually loosening what
is currently in place.
[2:36:14] Why do you say that
when your house at any given time which
[2:36:20] is
false
[2:36:23] code he can only enter on a vacant
property but that's a that's a
[2:36:28] dictatorship not a democracy
let's go with that let's start there you
[2:36:33] don't want
[2:36:36] to go like that
[2:36:50] You all here standing here with just
so you're false and it's we have extreme
[2:36:58] power. It's a power that we don't have.
[2:37:06] Walking around. No,
[2:37:15] you want me
where a dwelling is is occupied. I
[2:37:20] cannot enter the dwelling or remain in
the dwelling. Correct. Correct. Can you
[2:37:26] let him answer the dwelling? No, I never
said that. On the property, not in the
[2:37:30] dwelling.
Did I say your dwelling?
[2:37:45] So during buildings access during a
reasonable time of day, I can actually
[2:37:49] access any property to determine if
there's an unsafe condition. Um or
[2:37:54] somebody's constructed without a
building permit allowed to enter the
[2:37:57] property, not the building. So you I
cannot enter a building that's occupied
[2:38:03] unless I present my ID. I identify
myself and I ask it to enter and I also
[2:38:08] have to say that you are allowed to
refuse my entry and in no way is it an
[2:38:13] obstruction of the law inside a
dwelling. I consider that the code does
[2:38:17] and I consider that myself and I will
not enter your dwelling.
[2:38:26] Not in the
house.
[2:38:29] an unoccupied house. I'll I'll verify
it. Yeah. I mean, listen, I think we all
[2:38:34] heard him say property and at no time
did he say house. Uh I'm sure that we're
[2:38:39] going to be able to see that on record
as well.
[2:38:42] I
[2:38:56] just don't really
[2:39:05] um we did have vacant land. We went
through that process. We built a house.
[2:39:10] Um the one question I do have is about
sink cans. Um my concern is I just built
[2:39:16] actually a storage shed on my property
and the fee itself for the permit was
[2:39:23] atrocious. I didn't get my permit in my
application before they went. So if I
[2:39:28] have to get $500 permit for a
camp that is now not an affordable
[2:39:36] storage solution. Yeah.
I like so I tend to invite them to buy
[2:39:42] them as much as I can. That's all. Um,
but I can see people just going ahead
[2:39:47] and doing it. It's kind of why they've
already done it. They they got the
[2:39:52] trailers on the property because they
just went ahead and did it. They're
[2:39:57] going to keep doing it. you're going to
end up coming to the properties and then
[2:40:01] it's going to be another big I can see
why the fees but I would like to see
[2:40:07] that if
[2:40:10] cand storage that the fees for those
permits to get the but also clarity to
[2:40:18] make sure that the cand
would actually get approved too because
[2:40:23] I think of it I just built my shed and
the stuff I had to do to get approval
[2:40:27] for
was a little nuts for me. So, if I had
[2:40:31] to modify a CCAN to make it fit the
building, I don't know if the building
[2:40:36] code includes anything that will cover a
C.
[2:40:41] Is it covered under the building code?
Am I have to change the structure of it?
[2:40:46] Am I have to change the doors? Am I
going to have to do a bunch of
[2:40:49] modifications
[2:40:53] and I have to pay? So, I'd like clear
before the actual rules come out. What
[2:40:59] are my fees going to be if I put a CC
camp? I want to know those things before
[2:41:04] the bylaw comes and I understand why you
have to pass a bylaw and then do some of
[2:41:10] the work. But it declares is important.
Fair enough. Uh I
[2:41:21] I'm I and I'm sure uh I speak for the
rest of the council point about the
[2:41:25] fees. Um and we will obviously
reconsider and talk about and ensure
[2:41:31] that our fees are reasonable uh and not
restrictive. Uh I'm not sure if you were
[2:41:36] here the whole time. I want to make sure
that you know that there is no building
[2:41:39] uh permit required for an 80 by 20 based
on the square foot of a shipping
[2:41:45] container. It's only above and that is
actually part of the building code. I
[2:41:49] don't know if we need more clarification
from Michael on that or if we understand
[2:41:54] that. Yes.
I do. You want more clarification on
[2:42:00] just something he said about the hydro
the height
[2:42:05] hydro or height? Sorry.
So five meters.
[2:42:12] Yeah. So basically it's saying if you're
going to do shipping containers, don't
[2:42:15] stack them above one another because
there's Well, no, but five meters you
[2:42:19] could get three cans high. Yeah. Yeah.
So typically So you're saying three cans
[2:42:24] high is the limit. No, you can't stand
it because that's in that's in the
[2:42:28] bylaw, too. So you said five feet
maximum. So the five meters coming five
[2:42:33] meters. Sorry. The five meters is one of
the provisions for a shed. So it doesn't
[2:42:39] really apply to why are we talking about
see and because we're slipping the seans
[2:42:44] into the new exemption for sheds. You
can slip
[2:42:49] it a little Does your she can exceed
five meters? I don't have one. Do you?
[2:42:55] No, I don't have one and I certainly
encourage them. I'm just speaking to
[2:42:58] what you said about five meters in
height. Yes, because that's the
[2:43:02] provisions of a shed. So it can't be
attached to a dwelling not over 5
[2:43:06] meters. If you're going to pass that
bylaw saying not over 5 m, then people
[2:43:10] are going to stack seat pans up as high
as they can. There's a provision in the
[2:43:15] bylaw that says you cannot stack. So
that's
[2:43:18] that's it by welding them. Now it's not
that it's
[2:43:24] okay. The other question and then I'm
done. You said something about I'm not
[2:43:30] sure who was sorry I'm
trying should be not must be should be
[2:43:35] painted to look nice
exactly who decides what's nice who
[2:43:43] decides what color goes there who
decides whether you want to stand it on
[2:43:48] its
end who makes these decisions it's easy
[2:43:52] to pass the bylaw and say oh we've got
the power one more year Yeah, I know one
[2:43:58] part here, but there you go.
Yeah, it's actually not easy to pass the
[2:44:04] bylaw. And so
when no, when we're trying to balance
[2:44:09] the feedback that we get, there are a
lot of people who don't like CS in the
[2:44:13] in the communities. So what we're trying
to do is say we we we can appreciate why
[2:44:18] it is a useful structure to have for
storage on people's properties. And the
[2:44:23] balance is as long as we remove the
lettering and it's painted a uniform
[2:44:27] natural color then at least we try to
make it more but that is too ambiguous.
[2:44:33] It's a completely ambiguous statement. I
don't think well my favor from the crowd
[2:44:38] tonight is people won't like to say that
we want beige pan tone 16001 as the
[2:44:44] color memory. But but she is allowing
we're allowing it to be natural natural.
[2:44:52] This is what I'm saying. It's not an
easy balance. No, but you're opening
[2:44:56] yourselves up to ridicule. Yeah.
[2:45:10] Hi, my name
is I've been living in here. for 50
[2:45:15] years. I've been married for 50
[2:45:22] years. I've been paying tax here ever
since I was 16 years
[2:45:27] old and I'm talking about
trailers. I've got a trailers on naked
[2:45:34] land on
what right here beside
[2:45:39] me and I don't see any reason why I
can't camp in my trailer.
[2:45:49] When we talk about cess poolool, we got
a open house for the washroom
[2:45:55] outside and uh as water we use the
lake to wash the dishes and whatever I
[2:46:06] have to
do. And other than that, I have a home
[2:46:12] in Bonfield. I've been paying tax like I
said and I don't see what's the reason
[2:46:19] that I can't camp only for the summer in
my trailer with my grandkids and enjoy
[2:46:36] life and I don't see the the reason I
feel so discrimination
[2:46:42] or not. It's on
real and I don't know I don't know about
[2:46:50] [Music]
[2:46:55] and we're using the same link
Bfield and there's trailer a little bit
[2:47:03] everywhere
[2:47:10] like and I'm paying The only reason they
want me to do is to sell the lake so
[2:47:18] they can have a house that is worth
million.
[2:47:34] So, so again, just reiterate, any
trailer, the any trailer currently on
[2:47:43] lakefront property is there illegally
and it's been illegally for several
[2:47:47] years. This has nothing to do with this
council saying that you're
[2:48:03] in their trailer. We're going to find
[2:48:10] $25,000. You're the one and you said
[2:48:15] no% I stand behind my
I stand behind that I don't think
[2:48:22] trailers should be onent.
[2:48:42] Absolutely. Yes.
[2:48:56] Got sick hands.
[2:49:02] Okay, wrap this up.
[2:49:10] Wrap it
[2:49:17] up. Wrap it up.
[2:49:30] Okay, I want to talk about
secants. Okay, why don't we allow 50
[2:49:35] foot cands and not 40 foot cands?
They're engineered by the same people.
[2:49:39] And who is uh employed by the township
that has No, never mind. Who's employed
[2:49:46] by the township that is an engineer and
able to stamp a floating woody can over
[2:49:50] a 20 foot can? Nobody
[2:50:05] uh my authority lies under uh anything
over 161. So I'm telling you if you want
[2:50:13] it doesn't matter it doesn't listen to
me if it's under 161 I can't ask you to
[2:50:19] get an engineer I can't ask you for
nothing except
[2:50:23] apply it's not it's not a building
under 20 ft is not a building it's not a
[2:50:31] building I can't do It's
a gang.
[2:50:42] It's a building over 161. I'm telling
you, if you want Yeah. And then it has
[2:50:47] no authority except for the buying.
[2:50:56] Yes, it's the same. But there's no
authority.
[2:50:58] 16.
[2:51:27] [Music]
Well, uh, when you're talking about
[2:51:31] sheep containers, I agree on the 20
footers as long as they're properly
[2:51:36] placed, not in front of other people.
And I got some there. I know I got to
[2:51:43] paint them, but you can't paint them
snow. But another thing
[2:51:48] is, like I wanted to say a while ago,
the sea containers, the seeds can't get
[2:51:54] in there as easy. Now, any of these
little buildings and sheds, they're a
[2:51:59] lot of them are
[Music]
[2:52:02] dinosaurs. 531 down here at the highway
and that bird shed. I think that maybe
[2:52:08] the duty and inspector should be putting
more effort into getting that cleaned up
[2:52:14] and make a lot more impressions of the
bombfield
[2:52:17] area. But, uh, that is something to use
to do.
[2:52:23] Now why I'm talking about
pillars when you're allowing these
[2:52:28] pillars to be set up any of the houses
lots there's temporary use and say
[2:52:35] they're going to use the washroom inside
I don't
[2:52:39] agree because that's just open up the
kind of work to either you do or you
[2:52:45] don't and another thing is what I want
to get out
[2:52:51] there He hasn't emphasized of any
property being he for storage and
[2:52:57] somebody to put up a storage area where
they can be
[2:53:01] stored. I think that's something to be
considered something
[2:53:08] for. Thank you.
[2:53:16] So one more question. However, we still
have probably an hour to go. So,
[2:53:26] um you would like to I'll give you the
phone. Um so, we'll give you a break
[2:53:33] after
this lady comes up and a five minute
[2:53:38] break to get a coffee to watch break and
then we'll move forward with the rest of
[2:53:43] the presentation
on the trailers and uh
[2:53:49] the
uh shortterm radicals,
[2:53:53] right?
[2:54:05] [Music]
Okay. So, can you point to me everywhere
[2:54:12] that is
[2:54:21] where it is in the bylaw bylaw does it
has to be a permitted use under zone or
[2:54:26] any medicine it's not in there are
sections especially in bylaw
[2:54:31] 201806 I don't have that bylaw with me
today but those were the sections that
[2:54:35] were in there that said that you cannot
have a trailer I don't know
[2:54:49] but not on vacant name. That's only if
you have a dwelling.
[2:54:59] If you are in the RL zone and you have a
dwelling on your property, you can have
[2:55:04] a trailer with no license because you
have a dwelling. It cannot be on vacant
[2:55:09] land. If you
live it's it's the vacant land that is
[2:55:14] the concern. So that's what would have
if you have a house you can have a
[2:55:20] trail. It doesn't matter on the zone.
It's the zone for a
[2:55:28] vac. It's the zone on the vacant land
only that is enrolled for a trailer.
[2:55:35] Everywhere else it is not permitted
unless there is a dwelling. I hope that
[2:55:39] helps clear that up. How about vacant
land and permitted trailers? Why can
[2:55:45] they not be stored on vacant land?
There's people in this hamlet here that
[2:55:50] got vacant land and they have no place
to park their trailer beside their
[2:55:56] house. They using the vacant land park
their trailer over the winter. Why is
[2:56:00] not permitted? I pay tax on vacant land.
There's a provision in the zoning bar
[2:56:06] that says that if you are the adjacent
land owner on the vacant land, you can
[2:56:11] park it on your propert on that
property. You have to own the property
[2:56:15] beside you in order to put the on to
store over the winter. Not to use to
[2:56:20] store over the winter. You can do that.
That that permission is in
[2:56:25] there in the cabinet area in the
R1 commit.
[2:56:32] I will get back to make sure that I give
you the correct
[2:56:36] answer. So I don't
[2:56:52] know. This will conclude the public
session of this meeting. If anyone wants
[2:56:58] to be notified of the decision of the
approval authority, you must fill out
[2:57:03] the requested form at the back. If you
do not fill out the form, you will not
[2:57:09] be notified. Council will be considering
these bylaws at the March the 25th
[2:57:16] council meeting. Council appreciates all
the feedback.
[2:57:21] This meeting was held for public
consultation prior to the consideration
[2:57:25] of the proposed
bylaws
[2:57:28] and I have to say there's a lot of
thought from the people here and they
[2:57:35] are addressing their concerns and that's
our concerns as well. It certainly
[2:57:40] should be. So, um, we're going to move
on. If you'd like to have a coffee or a
[2:57:46] break for we're going to stick with five
minutes and then we're coming back and
[2:57:52] we will have another presentation for
the uh, trailer and if the short-term
[2:57:59] rentals and thank you. We'll continue
into our next agenda soon as you guys
[2:58:05] have a copy and come back and sit down.
Thank you.
[2:58:18] And we only got five minutes. That's
okay.
[2:58:31] I'm
[2:58:51] sorry.
[2:59:19] Imagine it's a
[2:59:24] Yeah.
[2:59:44] Don't
[2:59:47] forget to
[3:00:01] do it. That's it.
[3:00:43] Yeah, there's a good question.
[3:00:53] How do we
[3:01:12] increase this for me?
for maybe
[3:01:27] That was
[3:01:38] the All
[3:01:56] right. Whatever.
[3:02:23] Benefit.
[3:03:15] Well,
[3:03:25] simply talking about this
[3:03:32] That was cool.
[3:04:02] Even if let's
[3:04:17] say so let's say
[3:04:31] that should be
okay.
[3:04:41] So maybe
[3:05:00] Depends on what episode.
[3:05:40] years. Awesome.
[3:06:42] It's Just
[3:07:07] make your eyes.
[3:07:37] Can everybody go back to where we do the
final session?
[3:08:03] just two really nice people just came up
like great presentation and we want to
[3:08:07] work projects like there's different
people in this. Absolutely. It's just
[3:08:13] people recording that. Sorry.
[3:08:20] That's good.
It's fantastic.
[3:09:11] Yeah. Yeah. I was
[3:09:22] wondering I know there's there's lot of
Yes.
[3:11:27] states,
please. We're going to start very
[3:11:30] shortly.
[3:12:47] start. I know.
[3:12:58] It was
[3:13:22] Ready to move on with the next part of
the preservation.
[3:13:33] is on
[3:13:37] trailers and
[3:13:55] council contract.
[3:14:10] for shortterm.
I know youus.
[3:14:18] So the next presentation tonight
short-term rentals and revival
[3:14:30] So council staff and community members
have been working on these byas for over
[3:14:34] two years. There have been several
opportunities for public consultation as
[3:14:38] evident on the slide. There have been
amendments from the first drafts as new
[3:14:42] ideas and comments have come to light.
The community has shared diverse
[3:14:46] opinions and the final drafts have been
reviewed by the legal team. We're going
[3:14:50] to present the results of the
consultations among everyone here
[3:14:53] tonight. The details on the making of
these bylaws are posted on the website
[3:14:58] and all documents and meeting recordings
are posted and were updated as they
[3:15:03] happened. If anyone wanted to comment or
speak to these two bylaws tonight,
[3:15:07] submissions were to be in by yesterday,
Monday at the the 17th at noon. We
[3:15:13] received some comments and there are
members of the community here tonight to
[3:15:17] speak to those comments which we will do
after these presentations although I
[3:15:21] think we've already done a number of
them.
[3:15:25] We know we will not make everyone happy
with the final bylaws. There are
[3:15:30] polarized opinions. Council council's
intent is to create these bylaws to
[3:15:35] permit the uses and provide more
flexibility but in a way that ensures
[3:15:39] everyone can still enjoy their
[3:15:47] property. So we'll start with trailers.
[3:15:53] Why is the township introducing the
trailer bylaw? The burnt rules do not
[3:15:57] permit the use of a trailer on vacant
land. While there are mixed comments on
[3:16:02] permitting them within Bonfield, they
are becoming a trend throughout Ontario
[3:16:06] and one that is taken in up in Bonfield.
Council is considering this bylaw to now
[3:16:11] allow trailers on vacant land with
regulations. The official name of the
[3:16:16] bylaw is to license, regulate, and
govern travel trailers and recreation
[3:16:20] vehicles in the township of the
bombfield. And tonight, we'll just refer
[3:16:23] it to it as the trailer
[3:16:27] bylaw. The bylaw applies to all to to
any trailer as defined on all property
[3:16:33] within the township. However, there are
exceptions. If a property has an
[3:16:38] assessed trailer, which means it's
considered a permanent structure and has
[3:16:43] been assessed under the assessment act,
it does not require a license. This both
[3:16:47] elsewhere in the zone well. The test has
two camping establishments and this
[3:16:52] bylaw will not require trailers within
those two businesses to be licensed.
[3:16:56] Section four of the bylaw also exempts
when there is a dwelling on the
[3:16:59] property. The store trailer does not
need a trailer, sorry, a license. You
[3:17:05] know, this is going to seem repetitive
because we've already had conversation
[3:17:08] on a lot of the things that we were
talking about, but I'll still move
[3:17:11] forward with the presentations we had.
[3:17:15] So, so these definitions outline the
type of structure that the bylaw applies
[3:17:19] to, whether they are recreational or
vehicles used for temporary eating and
[3:17:23] sleeping or travel trailers that are
plenty manufactured for the temporary
[3:17:27] use of living and accommodation. In
general, this covers all trailers meant
[3:17:31] for temporary use. Removing the gears
and towing equipment renders used as
[3:17:35] non- temporary structures involves under
a different section of the zoning by we
[3:17:39] are focusing on permitting the use of
trailers in this for the
[3:17:46] purpose the bylaw will permit trailers
to be licensed in the rule of zones of
[3:17:50] detention. This means not in the hamlets
and not in the residential limited
[3:17:54] services or commercial industrial zones.
In reviewing original subdivision
[3:17:59] agreements, some dating back to the 60s
and 70s, there are provisions directly
[3:18:03] in those agreements that say a trailer
is not permitted. We had carried that
[3:18:07] forward into this volume. Licensed
trailers will be permitted to be used
[3:18:12] from May 1st to December 15th of each
year and then stored from December 16th
[3:18:17] to April 30th of the following year on
the same vacant lot. This means you do
[3:18:22] not have to move your trailer off the
property at the end of the season.
[3:18:29] In the research of preparing this bylaw,
best practices and lessons learned from
[3:18:34] other communities were applied. While
council is willing to open the bylaw up
[3:18:37] to the use of trailers, the regulations
within the bylaw are in place to start
[3:18:41] small and evaluate their effectiveness.
The regulations set out in section 4 of
[3:18:46] this bylaw are intended to maintain the
character of the neighborhood and
[3:18:49] protect long-term health and safety.
Building permits cannot be issued for
[3:18:53] accessory structures on vacant land.
Therefore, a licensed trailer cannot be
[3:18:57] built cannot build or install any
structure that requires a building
[3:19:01] permit. Decks will be permitted as long
as they are under 2 ft in height and
[3:19:05] less than
100 10 square meters or 108 square ft.
[3:19:11] I'm still a square feet with their
making me person. They cannot be
[3:19:16] attached to the trailer. Storage sheds
less than 10 square meters with no
[3:19:20] plumbing or heating will also be
permitted. It is understood that to
[3:19:24] enjoy the property owners will need to
store lawnmowers, outdoor furniture and
[3:19:29] such and these provisions will allow
that without contributing any others or
[3:19:33] the building code
act. It's also understood that shade and
[3:19:38] shelter outdoors. It is important to
enjoy the trailer as building permits
[3:19:42] cannot be issued. Canopies, pop on
tents, and smart placement of a trailer
[3:19:46] are all acceptable options. When
considering to license a trailer, there
[3:19:50] are requirements for an entrance permit
and application for a civic address. So,
[3:19:55] access to the property, especially for
emergencies, is important and mandatory
[3:19:59] mandatory for health and
[3:20:03] safety. One issue that repeatedly
surfaced in relation to trailers was the
[3:20:07] environmental services. Concerns are
that the sewage and gray water are not
[3:20:11] being managed properly and dumpstra onto
the ground surface. These actions are
[3:20:16] inappropriate, illegal, and do not
promote long-term environmental
[3:20:21] sustainability. Trailers do come with a
septic system that generally goes the
[3:20:25] matter for a short period of time, but
certainly not for the length of the
[3:20:29] permitted use under this file. The North
Conservation Authority issues permits
[3:20:34] for gray water pit management. It's a
class two
[3:20:38] system. For the sewage, the North Envir
Conservation Authority outlines classes
[3:20:42] of systems that are appropriate for a
long-term
[3:20:45] solution. And this could be a class one,
which is an outhouse or class 4, which
[3:20:50] is a
VP. Another option is to enter into an
[3:20:53] agreement with the company that will
pump out or allow you to dump at their
[3:20:57] site for the system that comes with the
trail. A copy of the agreement is needed
[3:21:01] when the application and proof of the
year is required for annual renewal.
[3:21:07] When you get to slides, um, you'll see
that I have links into both of those
[3:21:11] options from North Carolina Conservation
Authority, but you can see there are
[3:21:15] several options for
[3:21:19] considered. Also to note, trailers are
not permitted to be short-term rentals,
[3:21:23] nor are they allowed to be stored on
township property. Property standards
[3:21:27] and clean yards apply to the licensed
trailer and property. Grass must be
[3:21:31] maintained, no outside storage, and no
garbage left. Trailer licenses will be
[3:21:37] per trailer licenses will be provided 16
garbage takes for the landful site per
[3:21:41] year. The license for the trailer is
meant for one trailer per property.
[3:21:46] However, there are opportunities to
invite three additional trailers to the
[3:21:50] lot for a maximum of 14 calendar days in
a
[3:21:55] year. This provision allows for a larger
group who wants to get together on the
[3:21:59] property for a long weekend or a special
occasion. There has to be a main
[3:22:04] licensed trailer on the on the property
prior to the special occasion permits
[3:22:08] being
issued. And the shorter time frame of
[3:22:11] the additional trailers less more
enjoyment of the property while having
[3:22:14] no risk to the
[3:22:26] environment. The bylaw sets out the
guidelines for issuing the license. the
[3:22:31] enforcement steps of the bylaw and the
appeals process should a license be
[3:22:36] withdrawn. The slide show clearly shows
that compliance is our goal. So for
[3:22:41] enforcement for the license the first
offense is an education that you have 10
[3:22:46] or sorry 14 days to remedy any offense.
The second offense is a penalty and it's
[3:22:52] seven days to remedy. The third offense,
the penalty issued an immediate
[3:22:58] suspension of the license for a maximum
of two years and removal of the trailer
[3:23:02] in any temporary use
[3:23:07] structure. The trailer license will be
annual. There is a prescribed form and
[3:23:13] when submitting you must include a site
plan, proof of ownership or consent of
[3:23:16] the landowner, pictures of the trailer,
all servicing permits and the license
[3:23:21] fee. There are additional questions
about electrical services and smoke
[3:23:25] alarms. These will be annual testations.
In addition, if there is no entrance,
[3:23:31] then the entrance permit application
request must be build out along with the
[3:23:38] civic. So to conclude, this presentation
is meant to highlight the regulations
[3:23:42] within the proposed bylaw. Council is
considering this bylaw to not not allow
[3:23:47] the use of trailers in the rural zones
while keeping the character of the
[3:23:51] neighborhood and ensuring the health and
safety factors are addressed. The bylaw
[3:23:54] considers best practices, lessons
learned, and community
[3:24:02] feedback. Now, the details of the
short-term
[3:24:07] rental. The formal name of the bylaw is
to license, regulate, and govern
[3:24:12] short-term rentals. Tonight, we will
reference it as the short-term rental or
[3:24:16] an SDR bylaw. It applies to all
buildings within the tension. There is
[3:24:21] if there is an existing short-term
rental, it will need to comply with this
[3:24:25] bylaw. On this slide, there's also a
list of
[3:24:30] exemptions. To understand some of the
provisions in the bylaw, it is first
[3:24:35] important to understand some
definitions. A short-term rental means
[3:24:39] all or part of a dwelling use to prov to
provide sleeping accommodations for any
[3:24:45] rental period that is less than 28 days
in exchange for payment similar
[3:24:50] commercial or industrial
use. A principal dwelling means a
[3:24:55] dwelling that is owned or rented alone
or jointly with another person where the
[3:24:59] person's is ordinarily a resident and
has designated the dwelling as their
[3:25:04] primary place of residency.
[3:25:08] A nonp principal dwelling
unit or short-term rental means a
[3:25:13] short-term rental that is not someone's
principal dwelling unit. So where they
[3:25:17] live somewhere
else. And a dedicated responsible person
[3:25:22] means the owner or agent assigned by the
owner of the L E of the short-term
[3:25:26] rental who shall be at least 18 years of
age to ensure that the short-term rental
[3:25:31] was operating in accordance with the
provisions of this bylaw the license and
[3:25:35] applicable
[3:25:39] loss. A highlight of section two of the
short-term rental by to operate an STR
[3:25:44] you must obtain a license. As we move
through the presentation, work details
[3:25:49] nobody explained. Trailers will not be
licensed to operate as a short-term
[3:25:53] rental. Licensed short-term rental shall
not be used for special events. We know
[3:25:58] that a home or property and are
occasionally used to host weddings or
[3:26:03] large celebrations. These are hosted by
the owner of the property. However, the
[3:26:07] intent is to avoid weekend after weekend
of large gatherings. If there's no
[3:26:12] restriction, then there is no
enforcement. Neighbors want to enjoy the
[3:26:15] outdoors on their property too. This
ensures that they can and that the house
[3:26:20] the house subject systems and parking is
not
[3:26:26] overburdened. Continuing short-term
rental shall have a maximum of 10
[3:26:30] overnight guests at any time. Each guest
room as marked on the application will
[3:26:35] have a maximum occupancy of two guests.
To protect the owner and the guests, a 2
[3:26:40] million insurance policy must be
submitted with the application. Parking
[3:26:45] is to be enclosed within the short-term
rental property. This is summer and
[3:26:49] winter. Owners must have a designated
parking area or areas that will
[3:26:54] accommodate the number of guests they
rent to. This also applies to municipal
[3:26:58] roads and private roads. If the owner is
not available, they must appoint a
[3:27:03] dedicated responsible person and notify
the township. The contact information
[3:27:08] will be posted on the mun website so
concerns regarding an a short-term
[3:27:12] rental can be addressed prior to the
township becoming involved. The person
[3:27:16] responsible must address the concern
within 60 minutes of a call or
[3:27:23] email. Throughout this process, the
township has heard concerns from both
[3:27:27] sides regarding permitting short-term
rentals on private roads.
[3:27:31] The courts have ruled that the use is
residential and regardless of ownership
[3:27:36] on the road, the township does not have
jurisdiction to restrict the use.
[3:27:40] However, to the concerns we did hear,
the bylaw includes provisions for car
[3:27:45] access. It is important that the guest
understands that properties and proper
[3:27:50] roads may not have the same emergency
response times for a variety of reasons.
[3:27:54] There are other provisions in the bylaw
that require the guests to be notified
[3:27:58] of emergency envelopment township
information such as rental
[3:28:06] landlites. Initially, there will be 50
short-term rental licenses issued per
[3:28:11] year. Currently, we are aware of 35 in
the tension, but it's understood that
[3:28:16] once this bylaw is adopted, more may be
started. This number will be reviewed if
[3:28:21] the weight list warrants, but as we've
heard earlier tonight, housing is a
[3:28:25] concern, so a balance must be struck.
This will ensure affordability as well
[3:28:29] as attainable home
[3:28:33] ownership. Class A licenses are for the
principal dwellings where the owner
[3:28:38] resides and non-principal dwellings,
which are typically second homes or
[3:28:42] cottages. A principal dwelling can rent
up to four bedrooms as the owner lives
[3:28:47] and stays in the house. Facilities are
common areas and shared. A non-principal
[3:28:54] dwelling is rented as a full suite. The
owner does doesn't stay in the dwelling.
[3:28:58] It cannot be broken up into the sections
to be rented to more than one party at a
[3:29:02] time. At the beginning of the year,
class A applications will be considered
[3:29:07] prior to class B licenses. The fee for
any short-term rental is $1,200.
[3:29:19] So, I have to pause for a moment because
under our procedure bylaw, um, we are
[3:29:23] not allowed to have a council meeting go
past 10:30 without passing the Nan
[3:29:28] council meeting. So, as it is past
10:30,
[3:30:10] moved by Mr. Perstone seconded by
counc whereas the procedural
[3:30:16] bylaw
[Music]
[3:30:19] 2023-48 section 10 1 states that no item
of business may be dealt with at a
[3:30:28] regular council meeting after 10:30 p.m.
unless authorized by a resolution
[3:30:34] supported by the majority of the
members. It hereby resolve that the
[3:30:39] count that the members of council agree
to function after 10:30 p.m. All in
[3:30:45] favor?
[3:31:00] Carry. Class B licenses are for
corporations. The provision comes if a
[3:31:05] corporation purchases a residential
building within the township solely for
[3:31:09] the purposes of using it as a short-term
rental. The corporation has to list the
[3:31:14] all of the
shareholders to certain rules and a
[3:31:18] corporation is limited to one short-term
rental within the boundaries of
[3:31:21] Bondville. Again, striking the balance
between allowing other uses for
[3:31:26] homeowners and protecting the rights of
residents to enter the home ownership is
[3:31:30] key. Class B applications will be
considered after class A applications,
[3:31:35] meaning that all applications start
February 1st of each year. So, class B
[3:31:40] will not be reviewed until March 1st in
a nominee year. This is to provide
[3:31:44] current owners and residents the first
opportunity to take advantage of the
[3:31:48] bylaw and offer a short-term rental.
When submitting the application, the
[3:31:53] bylaw outlines all the documents
required regardless of the class. The
[3:31:58] complete application will include a site
plan of the premises, floor plans,
[3:32:02] labeling the guest rooms, listing the
dedicated responsible person, and
[3:32:06] consent forms. There is a requirement
for an inspection. The inspection is not
[3:32:11] intended to ensure new building code
provisions are adeared to. It is to
[3:32:16] confirm the dwelling is as listed on the
site plan and floor plan and that there
[3:32:20] are smoke alarms and CO detectors and
other safety factors. There are
[3:32:25] provisions in the bylaw to address owner
consent. This process is not intended to
[3:32:30] be intrusive, but to confirm if the
township is licensing a short-term
[3:32:35] rental, the dwelling follows a
short-term rental
[3:32:40] by. So, enforcement, much like the
trailer, the BA sets up guidance in for
[3:32:46] issuing the license and enforcement sets
of the bylaw and the appeals process
[3:32:51] should a license be revoked. Again, the
focus is on compliance, not punitive
[3:32:56] measures.
[3:33:01] The bylaw also includes a code of
conduct that must be displayed. This is
[3:33:06] to ensure that the guest understands
their role in making short-term rental
[3:33:09] successful as well. It is it also
includes sections for garbage and pets.
[3:33:15] All rules that apply to residents shall
apply to rental guests. The dedicated
[3:33:20] responsible person will play a main part
in ensuring that while council is
[3:33:24] believes there are new opportunities for
tourists to visit the area, it will not
[3:33:28] be detrimental to the peaceful enjoyment
that Bonfield residents are used
[3:33:35] to. As indicated, those wishing to
address the Bow to submit their comments
[3:33:39] prior to the meeting. So we can take
those comments at this time. So I'll
[3:33:43] hand the feedback to Mary to review
those comments.
[3:35:11] comment period. Anyone wishing to speak
needs to submit their comments by
[3:35:16] Monday, March the 17th. So there are
people that put their names in and
[3:35:21] uh it was clear that there would be a
twominut period to speak. We have to
[3:35:27] ensure that this be held.
[3:35:33] Um so
um for the oral
[3:35:40] presentation is Kathy
Bray horse trailer.
[3:35:51] [Music]
I think we answered it already. So I
[3:35:55] think
you Norman Sher
[3:36:00] Yeah, it's not
[3:36:09] Jasmine. She's gone. Jessica Chris
Shepard.
[3:36:31] like to see how justice is. You've
increased the counter meeting to four
[3:36:36] hours by bringing so many firewalls in
at one time and I think that was a plan.
[3:36:40] So you get everybody confused. This
township is being really deceptive and
[3:36:44] really unfair. I've been penalized over
and over again and here's yet another
[3:36:50] one.
So again, I'm reading uh on behalf of
[3:36:55] Chris. Short-term rentals are dear to my
heart. I have personally been renting my
[3:36:59] cottage since 2015. If you look at my
listing, you will see that my reviews
[3:37:04] are excellent. My customers are mainly
repeat and I look after their needs
[3:37:08] during their stay. These ten tenants
typically book their vacation rental the
[3:37:13] year before and they spend money in our
township. They rent horses from banders.
[3:37:18] They eat meals at a dinner bell and
rollies. They rent boats and visit all
[3:37:23] the sites from Grasswell to the Talon
shoots, Oaklair and James Pottery. They
[3:37:28] visit Madawa and North Bay. They bring
money to our community. I am not a
[3:37:35] business. I rent my rental in order to
pay the exorbitant
[3:37:41] taxes. They literally pay.
[3:37:47] This is my passive rental income that I
use to pay the exorbitant
[3:37:54] taxes. Uh why does this township feel
the need to bring in a short-term rental
[3:37:59] bylaw that only allows 50
rentals? I would like to stress that
[3:38:06] this is massive overreach.
Not only does it only allow 50 rentals,
[3:38:12] you can only rent from no more than 150
calendar days a
[3:38:19] year. And you have to have insurance
assurance of 2 million. And apparently
[3:38:23] your parking has to be paved or
concreted or interlocking brick, which
[3:38:31] wouldn't that be nice to have our roads
paved?
[3:38:39] Lastly,
[3:38:46] um lastly, uh this is absurd. We have
$20,000. So, the bylaw proposes a
[3:38:52] $20,000 fine for not complying up to
$50,000 fine if refused a second time.
[3:38:59] We have bylaws to garnish noise and
trans trespassing already.
[3:39:04] Uh, my vacation rental is on 200 acres
and it doesn't bother anyone. Why does
[3:39:10] the council need to threaten me with
fines for my private passive rental
[3:39:16] income?
[3:39:36] So, first if I can um why are we doing
because council was asked to um council
[3:39:42] was asked to review the short-term mess
and that's when the constitution started
[3:39:46] over two years ago. Um and these files
are informed by all that. Again, you can
[3:39:50] see it on um online. Um parking does
need to be contained on your property.
[3:39:55] So you are not taking up the road uh in
road space or you're not parking in
[3:40:00] septics. Guests that do come might not
understand what the subject is. So there
[3:40:03] are provisions for that as well. The
fines are standard language for fines in
[3:40:09] all municipal bylaws. We can do
short-term or sorry we can do set fines.
[3:40:14] Um and those set fines can you know
that's when we go to the provincial
[3:40:19] offenses act and there are binds that
way. Um the when a court orders that you
[3:40:24] have
not that you've contributed the bylaw
[3:40:28] enough times through set fines, you can
go to courts and the court will set
[3:40:31] those fines. We have to put a number in
the bylaw and typically those bylaws are
[3:40:37] 25,000 50,000. They're standard numbers
um and they're approved um through the
[3:40:43] provincial fences act. Right now I am in
no comprevention. There's nothing I'm
[3:40:49] doing that's wrong right now. There's
nothing. And you bring in this bylaw and
[3:40:53] I will be a criminal and I will be
charged with 20,000
[3:40:58] $50,000. I am a citizen of this township
and I don't need to be bullied like this
[3:41:10] once the is entered in like once it's
approved and it's a criminal. You're you
[3:41:16] need to get an application. No, then I'm
a criminal. If I don't react to your to
[3:41:21] your bylaw, what doesn't exist right
now, I am a criminal. I'm going to be
[3:41:25] fined and charged. It'll be put on my
taxes and you're going to have one in my
[3:41:29] property. I've been pulled that a couple
of times. This is called bullying.
[3:41:41] Well, let's move on to the
[3:41:47] next All right. Um, we're move ahead
with um on short-term rentals. Dr. Paul
[3:42:08] Preston. Thanks very much. been for 20
years in order for the same reason.
[3:42:18] [Music]
[3:42:32] [Music]
[3:42:38] [Music]
[3:42:46] across the
country. Thank
[3:42:50] [Music]
[3:42:56] you. 5
[3:43:06] [Music]
[3:43:19] [Music]
Operations should be aware of
[3:43:34] [Music]
[3:43:40] basic things
like school and
[3:43:46] having come up
[Music]
[3:43:58] [Music]
[3:44:02] here. I think that I think worried that
it was too vague about parking because
[3:44:07] it just said the parking uh two weeks
ago we couldn't get to our house because
[3:44:12] trailers were
blocking get there. So I think they
[3:44:16] should specify how many cars the
property can park and how many trailers
[3:44:22] or boat trailers can be parked there
safely because that's that's a
[3:44:29] [Music]
[3:44:46] Thanks very much and thanks
[3:44:50] [Music]
[3:45:00] for Jessica. First
[3:45:06] shepherd. Okay.
[3:45:13] [Music]
[3:45:53] about trailers and short-term rentals.
So, unable short-term rentals and it
[3:46:01] seems like a lot of time legal expenses
has gone into this bylaw and staff
[3:46:09] tanning and additional cost to
municipalities in regards to short-term
[3:46:14] rentals.
what over uh I believe there's been over
[3:46:20] 12 meetings, few lawyer consultations
and bylaw
[3:46:25] reviews. Recently, it showed on sites
that North Bay has only seven
[3:46:32] licenses and East Fris only has two
shortterm rental license agreement. This
[3:46:39] bylaw will not work.
It just questions if this is why other
[3:46:45] municipalities may not have a bylaw and
rely on current bylaws and if needed
[3:46:51] calls to OP, MNR or by the uh by the
concerned citizen and almost most rental
[3:47:01] sites almost most rental sites have a
complaint process as well. It seemed
[3:47:07] from the onset that no matter what
presentations were given, the
[3:47:11] municipality was going ahead with the
original bylaw presented with minor
[3:47:15] amendments to insurance and fee. And
this took a lot of public input to get
[3:47:21] municipal staff council to consider. The
fee is still too high for the amount of
[3:47:26] taxes the person already pays to the
township and people are concerned with
[3:47:31] the required inspection of the property
and possible outcome. Even though
[3:47:36] building inspector may give a clearer
picture of what a short-term rental
[3:47:40] inspection would look like. This all
started by one petition a few years back
[3:47:46] and not accurate numbers of short-term
rentals or accurate data on amount of
[3:47:51] weeks rentals occurred. Also, the amount
of 35 I'm not really sure would be
[3:47:59] accurate either because uh I think I
showed counselor Corbett that often when
[3:48:04] you go and you count it could be
duplicate sites. Uh it could be um uh a
[3:48:11] commercial property that is allowed to
rent cottages. So, um it's not just an
[3:48:17] easy count of looking and counting, oh,
1 2 3 because that's not um uh proper
[3:48:24] and accurate info. This bylaw is a lack
for person that may just want to rent
[3:48:29] out a property for even a 4 to 6 week
period to assist with costs in uh and
[3:48:36] provide accommodations to a community
that is lacking in available
[3:48:41] accommodations.
It appeared that the last delication
[3:48:45] opposing now it's about dogs was all
based on one rancher going off a road.
[3:48:51] These things happen. I found it
interesting listening to the
[3:48:54] presentation that no one stated the
large equipment and cement trucks were
[3:48:58] building dwellings and many contractors
that may be unfamiliar with the road
[3:49:03] were going in and out many many months
traveling through to access properties
[3:49:08] in the area. So why was someone using
the road such a concern? Also are
[3:49:14] non-service delivery vehicles accessing
properties and may not be the same
[3:49:19] driver. No presenter, municipal staff,
council member could give any data of
[3:49:25] calls to police MR noise bylaw
complaints andor being enforced
[3:49:31] regarding short-term rentals within the
uh township. So is this where the
[3:49:36] residents want tax dollars spent and
time of municipal staff spent to
[3:49:42] implement and process with other
enforcement measurements already in
[3:49:47] place. We already paid for OP
services and also people not everybody
[3:49:55] can afford a cottage
nowadays. Like if my kids want to take
[3:50:01] over our place, they can't. they're not
going to be able to they may need to
[3:50:08] rent or um to do a short-term
accommodation for 3 to four weeks. It's
[3:50:15] not just for the it's not just for the
rich because a normal person like if I
[3:50:22] started out now or any member of my
family, they would not be able to afford
[3:50:27] to live where we now live and enjoy.
Thank you.
[3:50:44] really good.
Okay. Uh in regards to just um trailers
[3:50:51] within RLL zones, the m uh the majority
of our stations in Ontario near water
[3:50:57] bodies and province allows 21 days to
camp on with a trailer alongside crown
[3:51:03] lands. This is their land and municipal
taxes on those lands may already be more
[3:51:08] than a dwelling in the hamlet. Why the
600 fees for trailers?
[3:51:14] um where did the amount come from and
what formula was used? I provided uh
[3:51:19] council corporate with a bylaw from a
township that compromised and and
[3:51:24] permitted 21 days of use of a trailer on
RLS lands. Why not here? Thank you.
[3:51:36] Next we have Robin Edwards.
[3:51:58] and I have two minutes. So, I thought
I'd give you a bit of background. Um,
[3:52:03] I've been a taxpayer bondfield now for 5
years. We bought a waterfront property
[3:52:09] uh to retire to. I live about four hours
south of here, but we wanted to buy a
[3:52:14] piece of the near north for our seven
kids because again, they can't afford a
[3:52:19] cottage. We knew when we bought our
cottage, we'd have to rent our cottage
[3:52:23] in order to pay the mortgage. We also
knew that we are a buy local, invest
[3:52:28] local. We put thousands of dollars into
repairing,
[3:52:34] fixing, investing in our property, all
local money, all local trades people,
[3:52:39] all local cleaners, local. We rent about
six weeks a year, mostly to friends,
[3:52:45] family, and colleagues. But we do also
have a website and we write publicly.
[3:52:49] I'm Mr. Preston's neighbor. There are no
dog attacks, no dog.
[3:53:05] Yes.
[3:53:14] We don't we do not
So this is what we live with. I don't
[3:53:19] want it to become personal, but I can
say that this is a tough issue for every
[3:53:24] community. Welling doesn't make the
issue go away or better. We have a
[3:53:31] wonderful cottage. We have really been
trying hard to make a go of it. I don't
[3:53:36] know if we can live with this. We're
trying. It's It's hard. It's hard to be
[3:53:42] lied to and lied about. It's hard when a
bylaw like this is proposed that we have
[3:53:47] to respond to an email in 60 minutes,
which we will, or a phone call, which we
[3:53:53] will, but we can't call anybody about
what we go through in our cottage
[3:53:58] because no one's going to come. No one's
going to answer within 60 minutes when
[3:54:02] we're listening to parties and chaos
night after night after night and Mr.
[3:54:07] Preston's multi-million dollar cottage
next door.
[3:54:12] [Music]
[3:54:27] some concerns about the policy.
[3:54:34] One of the concerns that we have about
the policy is the timelines. So if the
[3:54:39] policy is adopted and there isn't
anything that suggests how long we would
[3:54:44] have in order to comply. So if the
policy say pass this month, can we get
[3:54:49] 60 days, 90 days, 120 days? Because it's
a lot. It's a lot of requirements and
[3:54:55] the summer's coming and so is the ski
season and that matters to us. It
[3:55:00] matters a lot. I don't know if um
council would consider putting in
[3:55:04] timeline so we at least have an
opportunity a to comply and if we can't
[3:55:09] comply but we make every effort possible
let's say it's a septic inspection
[3:55:14] within a certain amount of time what if
we need a particular piece or part that
[3:55:18] doesn't come in time I want to know that
my best efforts is enough I can comply
[3:55:23] with the policy even if it means to no
fault of my own the parts not available
[3:55:27] within a certain timeline so I think
it's they're reasonable steps we can
[3:55:31] take to make this doable for those of us
that are going to try and make it
[3:55:35] happen. So, that's my one question. My
other was about um the resources. Is
[3:55:40] there going to be enough people to do
enough inspections to get through in
[3:55:44] time? Again, if we do our best and do
our due diligence, are we even going to
[3:55:49] be able to meet the requirements to make
it happen with the resources we have?
[3:55:55] The only other question I had was about
grandfathering. Many of the short-term
[3:55:59] um
policies across Ontario have
[3:56:02] grandfathering provisions, but this
policy is silent about it. And we're
[3:56:07] trying to make a go of this for our kids
more than anything and for our
[3:56:10] retirement. But there are people in the
community that are doing it for income
[3:56:13] in order to stay here, to live here, to
invest here, to pay their bills here.
[3:56:17] And so, you know, for us, we might just
fail in our venture of this dream we
[3:56:23] had. And I guess we have to live with
that. But for people trying to make a
[3:56:26] livelihood here, I think there should be
grandfathering provisions so that it can
[3:56:31] be um something that's reasonable and
can happen within um a manageable way.
[3:56:36] So those are those are my only comments
on the policy.
[3:56:46] Thank you. Next we have Lori
[3:56:53] Land people.
200 acres. Father, nobody. I'm being
[3:56:58] penalized for this.
[3:57:10] No more questions.
[3:57:14] Okay. Next, we're going to
um move on.
[3:57:26] Um, so we did receive some written
comments as well. So
[3:57:31] I'll please see our comments below
regarding the proposed RV
[3:57:35] amendments. We understand that the
current bylaws have been have long
[3:57:40] prohibited RVs on vacant lands. Much
like any other Ontario and northern
[3:57:44] municipalities, we also recognize that
council is working to address an issue
[3:57:48] you didn't create and we appreciate your
efforts to find a fair and practical
[3:57:52] solution. We believe the proposed
amendments by law 202516 and by law
[3:57:59] 202510 aim to strike a balance by
setting clear guidelines and introducing
[3:58:05] the licensing system. They offer a way
to allow temporary RV use while still
[3:58:09] ensuring proper oversight. These changes
aim to create more fairness by ensuring
[3:58:15] all property owners contribute to
municipal services. They also seek to
[3:58:19] address concerns about unregulated RV
use like the creation of campground like
[3:58:23] conditions with multiple RVs on
properties near permanent homes as well
[3:58:28] as issues like noise, improper waste
disposal, and the potential impact of
[3:58:32] our lakes and environment. No solution,
no solution is without its challenges,
[3:58:37] but these amendments do consider the
interest of RV owners, permanent
[3:58:41] residents, and the broader community. We
support council's efforts and are
[3:58:44] hopeful that these changes will help
create a fair and enforceable path
[3:58:49] forward.
[3:58:55] I think that actually answered as well.
[3:59:01] I can address some of the comments on
the short-term rental.
[3:59:05] [Music]
Um there's the parking does not need to
[3:59:10] be paid. Um but it does need to be
designated in this. So we'll certainly
[3:59:13] bring that back in um as well. entry
that council will give the comments
[3:59:18] regarding the timelines uh and the
applications and that are brought back
[3:59:22] to the to the council meeting on March
25th as well.
[3:59:31] Yes.
[3:59:36] Yes. So we'll bring that back.
Yes. Um, and I think those are all the
[3:59:41] major
[3:59:53] trailer. Next, we
have a debate on whether we have the
[3:59:59] fireworks
in Canada Day or the end of the summer
[4:00:04] event. So, what's going to happen is uh
we'll have a the staff go out and count
[4:00:11] the ones that will vote and uh for
Canada Day July 1st each year standard
[4:00:20] date celebrate Canada's independence.
It's a national holiday. Summertime hot
[4:00:26] at dusk is later fireb season volunteers
family time. No rush.
[4:00:33] If Canada Day when there's a fire ban,
fireworks are cancelled and not
[4:00:39] rescheduled till next year. Cancelled
end of summer
[4:00:44] events. Event moves to an evening event,
barbecue, dinner, games, community,
[4:00:51] fireworks,
etc. And then summer works or fireworks
[4:00:58] end of the summer event. wise long
weekend before school and summer with
[4:01:04] the bang. End summer with the bang.
Typically no fire bands at this time.
[4:01:10] More residents in the area. School
September not as hot and dusk as
[4:01:16] earlier. We have the volunteers rush
over to get ready for school. Have
[4:01:23] summer event. Canada Day stays a midday
event. two community gatherings, events
[4:01:29] to an evening event, stage to an evening
event, barbecue, dinner, games, music,
[4:01:36] fireworks, and 6 p.m. till fireworks.
So, I guess I'll pass. Lou wants um the
[4:01:46] fireworks for Canada Day and we're going
out to
[4:01:59] We have a from the federal government to
celebrate Canada Day. They give us
[4:02:08] $500 for that day.
[4:02:24] Sorry, I got Can we get people just to
raise their hand so that we can just
[4:02:28] Okay. Could you put your hand up if you
want to vote for Canada
[4:02:38] today? Okay. So, if you're voting for
the end of the the end of the summer,
[4:02:45] just leave your hands up.
Switch it, guys. This is who wants who
[4:02:49] wants
[4:02:53] end of summer. End of summer. Say it
again. I don't think they understand.
[4:03:05] They changed. Yeah, they changed.
[4:03:10] No, she said keep your hands down. So,
everybody put their hands down. No, it's
[4:03:14] easier to count. If we tell we can ask
them for the end of summer be easier to
[4:03:20] count. Okay. Okay. Explain that so we
can count against the Okay. She's
[4:03:27] counting again. If your hands are up,
keep them up. That's for the fireworks
[4:03:34] and Canada Day. If your hands are down,
those are are the ones looking for um
[4:03:41] Labor Day weekends.
[4:04:01] Look at the money. I got 13
for September long weekend. Me, too. So,
[4:04:08] the rest is Canada. What's Canada date?
[4:04:21] Okay. Um, our CEO told me we will have
fire fireworks on Canada
[4:04:28] Day. Thanks for voting. Okay.
Next. Okay. What time is it? 11:05.
[4:04:38] 11:05. Thank you very much everybody for
staying here all evening and going over
[4:04:44] everything. Um all of you have put your
hearts into this meeting and I thank you
[4:04:52] so much. There's so much to consider.
There's so much to think about when you
[4:04:58] hear what affects everyone. So um we'll
be considering
[4:05:05] um some of the comments or the all of
the comments I should say and I want to
[4:05:11] thank you very much for staying with us.
This is the latest meeting we've had
[4:05:15] since we started. So
[4:05:24] moved by councelor McInness, second by
councelor Clark that this meeting be
[4:05:29] adjourned at 101.
[4:05:36] Sorry 11.
[4:05:42] your best friend.
[4:05:46] End meeting for all.