The Niagara Escarpment Plan Five Year Review
The Niagara Escarpment Planning and Development Act (as it existed until the year 2000), required that the Niagara Escarpment Plan (NEP) be reviewed every five years. This review is a way of issuing a "report card" on how well the Plan is working to uphold the purpose and objectives of the legislation. (The Act now provides for a Plan review every 10 years). The NEP was adopted by the Ontario Cabinet in 1985. It lays out what forms of development are and are not permitted on the Escarpment. For example, it determines how many lots can be created; where golf courses can go; the types of road signs that can be erected; recreational uses allowed in parks; minimum setbacks from watercourses and sensitive natural areas; forest management practices such as tree-cutting approvals and plans, harvesting methods, and reforestation and natural regeneration; protection of agricultural areas; restrictions on the location and operation of pits and quarries; and so on. These Niagara Escarpment Plan policies take precedence over local land use policies such as zoning by-laws and Official Plans. The agency which makes the decisions is the Niagara Escarpment Commission (NEC). The NEC is a 17-member body appointed by the provincial Cabinet. It consists of 9 public-at-large members and 8 members representing the regional municipalities and counties which the Escarpment crosses. The area that is covered by the NEP is over 725 kilometres long, stretching from Queenston to Tobermory. It covers 183,694 hectares (1.63% of southern Ontario), crosses 8 counties and regional municipalities, and is home to over 120,000 people. For a more detailed discussion of the NEP go to the Niagara Escarpment Plan page. The Niagara Escarpment Plan Five Year Review provides an important opportunity for all stakeholders to revise and update the Plan to make sure that it is doing its job of protecting the Escarpment. The current review is the second Five Year Review of the Plan. The first Five-Year Review began in 1990. That Plan review took four years to complete, including public hearings over an eight-month period. It was a long and cumbersome process, because the entire NEP was up for review. However in the end, it yielded a better Niagara Escarpment Plan with some additional environmental protections. The current review officially began on June 15, 1999 with an announcement from Ontario's Minister of Natural Resources, but it was not until December 2000 that the Minister released the Final Terms of Reference (Adobe File - 30 KB) for the Review. At that time the Minister also stated that the Review must conclude by November 2001. The 2001 Five-Year Review is a shorter, more focused exercise than the one that took place in 1990-1994, as it has been scoped to only consider a few important emerging issues, rather than opening up the entire Plan. The issues to be considered in the Review are:
The 2001 Five-Year Review has been scoped to only consider a few important emerging issues, rather than opening up the entire Plan. The issues to be considered were defined by Ontario's Minister of Natural Resources in the Final Terms of Reference (Adobe File - 30 KB) released in December 2000. Those issues are:
After a public comment period in February and March 2001, the Niagara Escarpment Commission released the Plan Review Document (PRD) for the public hearing on April 17, 2001. The PRD details the NEC's proposed amendments to the Niagara Escarpment Plan and outlines the rationale and justification for those changes. The PRD is in six sections, one section for each of the issues defined
in the Terms of Reference. Click on one of the links below to view the
corresponding section of the PRD:
CONE filed a detailed submission during the public hearing outlining our comments on the Plan Review Document (PRD). The most controversial issue being discussed in the Five Year Review is that of estate wineries. CONE strongly supports the Niagara Peninsula wine industry. It is a wonderful success story illustrating the economic benefits of protecting significant lands. However, tourism is posing new and serious threats to the unique Niagara tender fruit and grape lands. In recent years, applications have come forward for large-scale wineries, restaurants, conference centres and hotels in Niagara vineyards. To deal with budget crunches brought about by government funding cuts, many public agencies are pursuing revenue generation opportunities in Escarpment parks. Examples include golf courses, overnight retreat centres and spas. As Escarpment parks gain in popularity, pressure for these types of development will only increase. CONE supports the promotion of tourism and public enjoyment of Escarpment parks. However, in many cases, these parks must be protected from their own success. Large-scale, commercial developments belong in urban centres. Only low-impact developments such as information kiosks, small gift shops, day-use-only facilities catering to park visitors and other such developments that are directly associated with the promotion and enjoyment of the Escarpment's natural features should be allowed in Escarpment parks.
CONE has objected to the proposed policies in the PRD which would permit full service restaurants on agricultural lands in the Niagara Peninsula. CONE has also objected to the proposed maximum winery size of 25,000 square feet. CONE feels that, overall, the scale of winery development being proposed in the PRD is far too great and would negatively impact the Escarpment and the agricultural land base. Rural Tourism The PRD explores the issue of whether or not the rural areas of the Escarpment should be opened up for intensive commercial development catering to the rural tourism industry. As the popularity of the Escarpment has grown, rural areas have come under increasing pressure from proposals for expanded tourism operations such as restaurants, bed and breakfasts, gift shops, inns and so on. CONE is of the view that tourist facilities not directly associated with recreational opportunities provided for by the Niagara Escarpment’s natural environment (such as skiing or hiking) should continue to be located solely in nearby towns and villages, and in areas designated Escarpment Recreation. This supports the economies of those urban areas, while at the same time protecting the Escarpment environment, which is what people are coming to see and enjoy! The PRD recommends that the Escarpment's rural areas NOT be opened up for intensive commercial development and CONE supports this recommendation. Signage Policies The PRD proposes revisions to the Niagara Escarpment Plan which address the current policy vacuum with regards to signs and billboards in the Plan Area. This policy vacuum has created public confusion and an over-reliance on Plan interpretation on the part of the NEC. CONE views proliferation of large commercial signs and billboards adjacent to roads within the Escarpment as a form of visual pollution that detracts from the open landscape character of the Plan Area. The PRD recommends new rules around signs which would require that all signs and billboards be small scale in size and relate directly to the principal use of the property on which they are being erected. CONE supports this position as it would prohibit the proliferation of third party commercial billboards while at the same time allowing Escarpment business owners to promote their businesses and direct their customers. Environmental Monitoring During the last Five Year Review, the hearing officers were critical of the NEC for proposing amendments to the Plan that, in their opinion, were not justified with solid, on-the-ground evidence of environmental change. Since that time, the NEC has initiated a comprehensive monitoring program to track the environmental success of the Plan and identify areas for improvement. The PRD recommends that environmental monitoring be enshrined in the NEP. CONE strongly supports this as it will provide a more reliable basis for evaluating the effectiveness of the Plan’s protective measures, as well as a more in-depth understanding of land use changes over time. Development in Escarpment Parks The PRD recommends new policies which would, for the first time, place some limits on the scale and intensity of recreational developments that would be permitted in Escarpment parks.
For the most part, CONE supports the limits being proposed in the PRD with a few modifications.
CONE sharply criticized the hearing rules as a "kangaroo court" when the Hearing Office first released them and sent out a press release and letter to the Hearing Office detailing our concerns. CONE was successful in gaining some modest improvements to the rules but feels the process was still far too complicated and too heavily reliant on electronic communications. CONE believes that these rules are to blame for the low public participation in the hearing. For more information on the hearing rules, you can read Procedural Order 1 (Adobe File - 36 KB) and the Rules Of Procedure (Adobe File - 79 KB) which detail the format and process for submitting comments or making oral presentations . The Niagara Escarpment Hearing Office is currently seeking feedback on the hearing process. You can contact them at NEHOStaff@oeb.gov.on.ca CONE is currently preparing a detailed criticism of the hearing process which will be available on this web site later this Fall.
CONE participated in the first hearings which gave rise to the Niagara Escarpment Plan (NEP) in 1985. CONE also acted as the voice of Ontario's conservation community in the first review of the NEP in 1990-1994. During that Review, CONE was a full party at the public hearing and participated on various advisory committees and working groups. CONE once again acted as the lead voice for the conservation community
throughout this Five Year Review. CONE:
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