Simcoe County approves tree-clearing activity at Beeton property

By Brad Pritchard Alliston Herald

UPDATED – A Beeton property owner will be allowed to continue cutting down trees at a 9th Line property.At a hearing today, Simcoe County council upheld its decision to allow a New Tecumseth landowner to chop down 30 acres of mature trees at the Tecumseth Estates properties at 6386 and 6416 9th Line.

The county granted the landowner a permit to cut down the trees in January. A stop work order was issued in March to allow for an investigation into the process that led to the special permit being granted.

Last week, the property owner, the Rizzardo family, also withdrew its development applications that have been before New Tecumseth since 2008.

Council voted 18-9 in favour of lifting the stop work order at the property and approving the special permit.

A number of Beeton residents who attended the hearing shouted “disgusting” and “shame” when council rendered its decision.

“The decision they made was completely deplorable,” said Stephanie MacLellan, who also made a deputation to New Tecumseth council Monday.

MacLellan believes council didn’t consider all of the comments from all the agencies involved, such as the Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority and the Ministry of Natural Resources.

She said the evidence submission process was unfair, noting how the landowner’s lawyer Ian Rowe was allowed to provide more information to the county after the April 14 hearing.

“The town’s solicitor presented new evidence last night and that wasn’t taken into consideration and these people are basing their decisions off of not all the right information,” she said.

The county’s lawyer Marshall Green spoke to this at the beginning of the hearing.

He said Rowe was given the opportunity to submit evidence at last month’s hearing and respond to the comments made by the town’s solicitor and residents. Rowe was also allowed to provide answers to questions that were raised at the meeting that he couldn’t provide answers to, such as which member of Rizzardo family owns the property.

“That is not an unusual process,” Green said “I’ve had it often in court where…there might be a piece of evidence missing, everybody agrees is missing, and the judge will say I want you to undertake to provide that evidence to me even if I’m going to reserve a decision.”

Green said the town has 30 days to appeal county council’s decision.

Before the final vote was held, council members spent about 15 minutes debating.

Coun. James Leduc supported Option 4, which was to confirm the stop work order issued March 3 and revoke the special permit.

He spoke to the landowner’s reason for clearing the trees, which is to expand an existing agricultural area.

“I think that the land’s very sensitive and I don’t believe that the area is totally farmable,” he said.

“We made mistakes from the beginning and I think it’s upon this council to…save the forest,” he added.

Coun. Basil Clark voted to continue the cutting, saying a farmer’s right to clear their land should take priority.

“Our tree cutting bylaw was put in place so forestry companies cannot clear large acres of woodland,” he said. “It was never meant to impede farmers when clearing fields and expanding their property. I think that’s still a right that each farmer has if that’s what the land is being used for.”

Coun. Bill French supported Option 4, noting there is insufficient forest cover in the south end of the county.

“To me this is simply a decision of weighing the value of farmland and canopy cover, and of course we should be valuing both, but I don’t believe in making room for more farmland by cutting down forest,” he said.

French also noted his concerns about the viability of the butternut tree replanting program for the property.

“We notice in replants they don’t seem to grow as well,” he said.

New Tecumseth Deputy Mayor Jamie Smith was not at the meeting. Mayor Rick Milne did not participate in the public debate about the options.

“We didn’t take part due to the conflict of interest…that was the advice of the county’s solicitor,” he said. “We weren’t sitting there with an open mind, and we already hired a lawyer to fight for us, so we already made our decision.”

Milne said he is disappointed with the outcome and said the town may consider appealing the decision.

“We wish the county had supported us and the residents of Beeton and stopped the tree cutting,” he said. “That was our stand all along. We have to now look at making an appeal, so we’ll be hosting a meeting soon with out solicitor to see if we have grounds for one.”

Rowe, the property owner’s lawyer, is pleased with the outcome.

“Given that no one in authority has ever alleged that my client committed any breach of the terms of the permit granted there was no basis for the issuance of the Stop Work Order,” he wrote in an email.

“I am not aware of my client’s plans with respect to further cutting.”