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Challenge of Mono landfill bylaw to be subject of hearing

March 18, 2015   ·   0 Comments

The Town of Mono faces a hearing brought by a local resident who contends the municipality’s bylaw regulating landfills is restricting him from being able to farm properly.

The issue arose last March, when Douglas Cox applied to bring fill in to his farm, but was asked to come back with more information on his request.

Mr. Cox never returned to Council but did make an application to the Normal Farm Practices Protection Board on January 2, and the Town has been told a hearing has been set for Thursday, April 2.

The Normal Farm Practices Protection Board was established by the Farming and Food Production Protection Act, 1998, to resolve disputes regarding agricultural operations and to determine what constitutes a normal farm practice.

In performing that function, the board seeks to achieve the stated goal of the legislature in balancing the needs of the agricultural community with provincial health, safety and environmental concerns.

Upon learning of the hearing, the Town notified Mr. Cox’s neighbours and has received several letters from those wishing to speak against his application.

“Norman Farm Practices contacted us to find out the status of the application, and we advised that we had received a partial application, but did not receive the full requirements necessary to proceed,” explained Planning Director Mark Early. “They sent that message back, and they decided to take it to the next level.”

When the issue was brought to Mono, Mr. Cox was said to have needed the fill in order to rehabilitate his land for sheep farming, but the hours the bylaw allowed to transport fill, as well as the cost to process the application had made it impossible.

“The application has been made to the board that the bylaw impedes his right to farm because of the fee and hours of operation,” said Mr. Early. “We will be doing what we can to defend the bylaw if this matter goes ahead.”

At last Tuesday’s meeting, the Mono council chambers were packed with disgruntled residents who want to see the Town put a stop to this, and one resident suggested that the Town was not doing a good enough job at fighting the application.

“As a citizen of Mono, I believe that you had an obligation to provide us with that information when hearing date was made,” said Elaine Kehoe. “Why were we not notified, and why was April 2 picked? It is before a long [Easter] weekend and a workday, so we would have to take time off work. There just doesn’t seem to be any clarification or transparency to let us know what was going on.”

Mr. Early explained that they did not receive notice of the set date, which was determined by the Normal Farm Practices Protection Board, until February 25, when they inquired as to whether the council chambers would be available for the hearing on April 2. The Town followed procedure by notifying residents whose properties were within 500 meters of Mr. Cox’s property.

Despite the explanation, Ms. Kehoe argued that if Council wished to prove they were doing their due diligence, they would request a hearing time that would not impact residents who have to work, and would provide more opportunity for more residents to speak against Mr. Cox.

“When something like this affects all citizens, everybody should receive notification,” she said. “This application isn’t about rehabilitations, it’s about dumping. If this law is allowed to go through, it will affect u for the rest of the community’s life.”

Council assured Ms. Kehoe that they were not aware they could reschedule a court date and decided that staff request an adjournment to change the date from April 2 until a month later.

When the matter does go to hearing, Mr. Early will be present to represent Mono Council, as well as any other residents who have officially stated a request to speak to the matter at the hearing. They will also be bringing forward an expert witness on farming practices to speak to the lack of necessity to fill the way Mr. Cox has wanted to.

Members of Council expressed fears at last Tuesday’s meeting that if the case is ruled in favour of Mr. Cox, it will open the door for more people to do the same, rendering the Town’s bylaw practically useless. Several members of the public also expressed similar concerns, adding that Mr. Cox’s actions speak loudly as being out of concern for himself, not the community he lives in.

“What Mr. Cox has done is obviously for his benefit,” said Mono resident Louis Baker. “If he succeeds, you will probably never get another fill application under the bylaw. He will open this town up to a flood of fill. I think it is incumbent upon council to lead this thing. It affects absolutely everybody and that is why notice should have been provided. Somebody has to stop the Province, and it’s time to be proactive and not sit back, waiting to get hammered.”

Any residents wishing to submit official comments/concerns can be forwarded to the Town of Mono.

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