By Brad Pritchard Alliston Herald

BEETON – A stop worker order will remain in place while Simcoe County reviews the application process that led to a Beeton landowner obtaining a special permit to clear 30 acres of mature trees.

For the duration of the order, Simcoe County Forester Graeme Davis said the property owner is allowed to perform cleanup activity at the site for all the trees that were legally felled after the permit was issued in January.

Davis said more details on the next step of the evaluation process should be available this week.

The county issued the stop work order March 3 at the request of New Tecumseth after residents voiced their concerns to council about the potential environmental impact of the clear cutting and the lack of public notification about the work.

At the March 2 committee of the whole meeting, council passed a resolution to ask the county to suspend the permit until a review is performed.

Since the review started, Davis said the owners of the 9th Line property, Tecumseth Estates Inc., have been “fully compliant” with the county and said it’s of “utmost importance” their rights be respected while the investigation takes place.

He said the tree cutting took place between Jan. 27 and March 3 in accordance with the special permit granted by county council Jan. 13.

While the report presented to county council to grant the special permit noted that New Tecumseth had no objections, the town’s director of planning said this wasn’t the message that was conveyed.

Trees were initially cut down at the property in 2012 without a permit. The activity was stopped after it was brought to the county’s attention.

The matter became a county issue since any tree clearing involving a property at least one hectare in size falls under its forestry conservation bylaw.

The landowner later applied for a tree-cutting permit, but Davis said it was put on hold because the area contains endangered butternut trees.

After this issue was resolved with the Ministry of Natural Resources, he said the normal application process resumed.

Davis said the application was circulated to the county’s planning staff, along with the Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority (NVCA) and New Tecumseth.

He said all parties requested an Environmental Impact Study and agreed to let the NVCA determine the scope of the work and review the study once completed.

Davis said the study was completed in October 2014 and was accepted by the MNR, along with the NVCA on behalf of the town and the county.

He said the study included a number of recommendations the owner must implement, including a replanting program for the butternut trees.

In order to create a buffer to protect the Beeton Creek, the owner also had to scale back the initial tree-clearing plan from 34.7 acres to 30.6 acres.

County council dragged on before they got to Beeton woods issue

By Richard Blanchard New Tecumseth Times March 11, 2015

The details of an April hearing on the future of Beeton Woods forest was on the agenda for Simcoe County council Tuesday afternoon.
Council meet with its lawyer, Marshall Green, to discuss the process which will see the county make a final decision on the future of the forested parcel
A stop work order was placed on the cutting of the trees on 35 acres located north of Beeton at 6386 and 6216 9th Line last week.
The owner of the property will be allowed to appeal the stop work order process. The hearing process will be similar to a court hearing or an Ontario Municipal Board hearing. County council will hear from the owner of the property as well as those opposed to cutting of the trees.
Those who wish to make a deputation will be asked to give notice to Simcoe County clerk seven days before the hearing and asked to submit an outline of their concerns. Details on the hearing and the submission process will be posted in the near future on the county web site simcoe.ca
The process will be open to anyone in Ontario who wishes to submit though the county will exercise some discretion in the number of presentations.
“A thousand people each making a presentation isn’t possible,” said Green.
In answer to a question from Bradford West Gwillimbury deputy mayor James LeDuc, Marshall Green said that the county has notified any adjacent landowners who were not notified of the original application to cut the trees which we legally required.
More information on the date and time of the hearing will be coming at Simcoe County council’s next meeting.