1 / 21

HEARING

HEARING in the Matter of The Conservation Authorities Act, R.S.O. 1990, Chapter 27 and in the Matter of Taurus Cookstown Partners Limited for Permission of the Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority Pursuant to Regulations made under Section 28(12) of the Conservation Authorities Act

keahi
Download Presentation

HEARING

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. HEARING in the Matter ofThe Conservation Authorities Act, R.S.O. 1990, Chapter 27and in the Matter of Taurus Cookstown Partners Limitedfor Permission of the Nottawasaga Valley Conservation AuthorityPursuant to Regulations made under Section 28(12) of the Conservation Authorities Act August 26, 2011

  2. Location of Proposed Work: Part Lot 7 & 8, Concession 14 &15, Town of Innisfil (Geographic Township of West Gwillimbury) municipally known as 3311 Hwy 89. Subject Property

  3. Proposal: • The applicant has proposed to: • Construct a major addition to the existing Cookstown Outlet Mall; • Create additional parking; and, • Interfere with a wetland.

  4. Applicable Legislation, Policies and Regulations: • Conservation Authorities Act • NVCA’s Planning and Regulation Guidelines (2009) • Ontario Regulation 172/06 • Planning Act • Provincial Policy Statement (2005) • Understanding Natural Hazards (2001) • Technical Guide – River and Stream Systems: Flooding Hazard Limit (2002) • Official Plan for the Town of Innisfil

  5. Considerations: • The entire property is within Regulatory Floodplain of Innisfil Creek and associated tributaries. • Portions of the site contain a wetland and associated adjacent lands. • Subsequently, the entire site is regulated by the Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority pursuant to Ontario Regulation 172/06.

  6. Considerations (continued): • The applicants have submitted an Application for Permission to undertake the proposed work in accordance with Section 4 of Ontario Regulation 172/06. This application was accompanied by supporting documents.

  7. Considerations (continued): • Section 3.1.3 b) of the Provincial Policy Statement (2005), which provides policy direction on matters of provincial interest, states that minor additions which do not affect flood flows may be permitted within the floodway.

  8. Considerations (continued): • The NVCA’s Planning and Regulations Guidelines (August 2009) define a minor addition for Commercial and Industrial uses as 50% or less of the original ground floor area or in the case of multiple additions, all additions combined are equal to or less than 50% of the original ground floor area. • Original ground floor area refers to that which existed on November 16, 1990.

  9. Considerations (continued) • The subject property is entirely within the Regional Storm floodplain of Innisfil Creek and several associated tributaries. • The NVCA had previously issued permits for the original structure and subsequent additions based on the policies/practices and floodplain information at that time. • The existing Cookstown Outlet Mall has been floodproofed. • Flood depths on the site range from 0 to approximately 0.9 metres.

  10. Considerations (continued) • The proposed addition and additional parking areas would result in further filling of the floodplain. • An assessment of the cumulative impacts associated with additional filling of the floodplain has not been submitted. • This development and subsequent approvals for filling of the floodplain will have a significant cumulative impact on the control of flooding both upstream and downstream.

  11. Considerations (continued): • An assessment of safe access/egress during a flood event has not been provided. Flood depths appear to exceed safe access guidelines during a flood event. • The NVCA’s Planning and Regulation Guidelines recommend that flood depths not exceed 0.3 metres and velocity not exceed 1.7 metres/second. • Should improvements to the existing access be impractical or not feasible, the NVCA requires confirmation that affected municipal emergency services will provide emergency ingress and egress to the site during a flood event.

  12. Considerations (continued): • A Draft Environmental Impact Statement was submitted in support of the related minor variance applications. • NVCA staff noted our issues regarding the EIS including the proposed encroachment into a wetland feature contiguous with the Provincially Significant Cookstown Hollows Swamp. • The NVCA’s Planning and Regulation Guidelines (August 2009) state that in general, development and site alteration shall not be permitted within any wetland.

  13. Considerations (continued): • Due to the presence of a Provincially Significant Wetland adjacent to the proposed development, there is a potential for hazardous soils (organics) on the site. • The NVCA staff have requested a geotechnical report to determine the extent of hazardous soils and methods to overcome the hazard. The report has not yet been provided.

  14. Considerations (continued): • Stormwater Management design for the site is required. • The NVCA has provided comments on the Stormwater Management Report and several outstanding issues were identified in our correspondence to the Town of Innisfil in response to their request for comments on the planning applications.

  15. Summary • NVCA Staff is directed to follow NVCA’s Planning and Regulation Guidelines (2009) approved by the Board of Directors in August 2009; • Subsequently, staff is unable to support the application for the following reasons: • NVCA Staff is directed to follow NVCA’s Planning and Regulation Guidelines (2009) approved by the Board of Directors in August 2009.

  16. Summary (continued) • The proposal which includes an increased ground floor area of 100% is contrary to the NVCA’s Planning and Regulation Guidelines (2009). • Specifically, the Guidelines state that for existing commercial and industrial uses within the floodplain, the addition shall be limited to 50% or less of the original ground floor area, or in the case of multiple additions, all additions are equal to or less than 50% of the original ground floor area (as of November 16, 1990).

  17. Summary (continued) • An assessment of safe access/egress during a flood event has not been provided. Flood depths appear to exceed safe access guidelines during a flood event. • The proposal also involves parking lot expansion into a wetland feature contiguous with the Provincially Significant Cookstown Hollows Swamp. The NVCA’s Planning and Regulation Guidelines (August 2009) state that in general, development and site alteration shall not be permitted within any wetland.

  18. Summary (continued) • A Geotechnical Report demonstrating the extent of hazardous soils and methods to overcome the hazard has not been provided. • There are outstanding issues with regard to Stormwater Management design. • The issuance of a permit for development and filling of the floodplain would result in further development within the floodway which eventually could have unacceptable cumulative negative impacts on the control of flooding and conservation of land.

More Related