Development, infrastructure top election issues in Haldimand and Norfolk

The mayoral races in Norfolk and Haldimand counties are about personalities as well as policies.

After a tumultuous first term that saw her become known as much for flouting pandemic rules and challenging senior staff as wrestling the county's finances under control, Norfolk incumbent mayor Kristal Chopp is asking for four more years to see through major improvements to the county's water system and continue replenishing Norfolk's depleted reserves.

Challenging Chopp are two current councillors, Amy Martin and Ian Rabbitts, and a former Town of Simcoe councillor, Bill Culver - all of whom tout their abilities as communicators and bridge-builders, in contrast, they say, to the incumbent's style.

In Haldimand, incumbent Ken Hewitt looks to shake off his recent provincial loss and keep the chain of office away from challengers Shelley Ann Bentley, Jennifer Gilmour, Dick Passmore and Jake Vandendool, while defending his support for a controversial development proposed for Nanticoke.

Candidates in both rural counties are grappling with the challenge of how to meet the glaring need for housing while preserving farmland and retaining the small-town feel prized by residents.

How to beef up infrastructure - from roads and bridges to high-speed internet access - at a time of economic uncertainty is another challenge that will face the winners after the votes are tallied on Oct. 24.

A new town for Nanticoke?

A proposal by Empire Communities to build 15,000 homes beside the Stelco steelworks in Nanticoke was hotly debated during the recent provincial election. Propelled by her opposition to the plan, independent candidate Bobbi Ann Brady won in an upset over Hewitt, who ran for the Conservatives.

Hewitt, running for a fourth term as Haldimand mayor, has assured residents nothing will happen to the Nanticoke lands without first getting their input on what would essentially be a new lakeside city of 40,000 people.

Public consultation is paramount in Haldimand County," he said in a recent video message to voters. If the residents don't support a Nanticoke development, then neither will I."

Back in February, Hewitt was supportive of the plan when it was presented at a council meeting, arguing growth in Haldimand is inevitable as the province pushes for more housing construction. It behooves the county to play ball with developers and wring all the benefits they can from the project while protecting what Hewitt describes as our Haldimand way of life."

Empire has since launched a charm offensive, circulating a brochure promising residents a bright future" for the industrial lands that includes a new indoor pool, 110 acres of publicly accessible waterfront, recreational facilities, a park and trail network, 2,000 affordable housing units, and a new sewage treatment plant.

All of this without a tax increase, the company said, and with the creation of more than 10,000 jobs.

Empire's proposal - and its request that the county apply for a Minister's zoning order (MZO) from the province to speed up the necessary zoning change on the industrial lands - has drawn mixed reviews from residents and Haldimand's five mayoral candidates.

Say no to the MZO," mayoral candidate Bentley proclaims on her campaign signs.

Gilmour and Passmore also gave the idea a thumbs down, with Passmore saying development should take place within existing urban boundaries.

Vandendool said if the county were to reject Empire's proposal, the developer would likely appeal to the Ontario Land Tribunal - a provincial review board where, as a recent Spectator investigation found, developers have a near-perfect record in planning disputes with municipalities.

Stelco, meanwhile, is adamant in its opposition to Empire's proposal, with a senior executive telling Haldimand council the development could prompt the steelmaker's exit from the county.

New housing versus disappearing farmland

Housing has to go somewhere, and in Haldimand and Norfolk that usually means building on farmland.

That trend is concerning to planners advocacy groups like the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA), which in a recent press release urged voters to support candidates who commit to preserving farmland and keeping development within established urban boundaries.

It is easy to take our farmland for granted, but voters should remember that farmland is a finite resource," said OFA president Peggy Brekveld. We understand that cities and towns need to grow, but we believe it should be smart growth that protects and preserves the land that feeds us."

Citing the 2021 Census of Agriculture, Brekveld said Ontario is losing an average of 175 acres of productive farmland to urban development every day."

It is up to planners to figure out that right balance" between the competing needs of the housing and farming sectors, said Wayne Caldwell, a professor of rural planning and development at the University of Guelph.

He errs on the side of farmland protection, noting the global need for food is rising while climate change turns previously productive farmland into nonarable land.

Southern Ontario is forecast to see increased productivity due to added heat and moisture, which Caldwell says creates a moral and ethical obligation" for politicians and planners to focus on preserving farmland and building new houses in a rational way" next to already developed areas.

Turning on the taps

Any talk of development in Norfolk is preceded by the phrase when they get the water fixed." There is a building freeze in several communities due to a lack of capacity at the county's water treatment plants. This has stalled projects and left development applications in limbo.

Norfolk and Haldimand councils have reached an agreement that would see water from the Nanticoke treatment plant - which is well under capacity at the moment - transmitted to Norfolk. It would also service Six Nations.

But it will be some time before badly needed water starts to flow through pipelines that have not yet been built.

No signal

Progress has been made on bringing high-speed internet and better cell reception to rural areas over the past four years, but dropped calls and missing Wi-Fi signals are still the norm in pockets of Haldimand and Norfolk, including on many local farms and in some urban areas with outdated infrastructure.

Poor connectivity limits the ability of residents to work and study from home, a problem identified by Norfolk's COVID-19 economic recovery task force as a top priority for the county to address.

In August, Norfolk County announced a partnership with Rogers Communications to lay approximately 1,750 kilometres of underground fibre cable that is projected to bring high-speed internet to nearly 9,100 homes and businesses by next year.

Norfolk contributed roughly $1 million to the project, with the balance of the funds coming from Queen's Park.

In late 2020, Haldimand County had a deal in place with KWIC Internet to bring broadband service to more than 10,000 underserved areas of the county within 52 months. Xplornet took over the work in June 2021, promising to complete the project within two years.

Tackling cannabis grow-ops

Norfolk County eagerly took steps to add cannabis to its agricultural mix once the crop was legalized in 2018. The county was proactive in drafting zoning bylaws to establish site plan rules and minimum setbacks for cannabis operations, and regulated large-scale growers continue to operate in strictly controlled environments.

But a proliferation of illegal grow-ops - over 100 by one recent OPP estimate - have caused headaches for residents whose nearby homes are beset by excessive noise, light and odours.

At a recent mayoral debate, Chopp said the county's dedicated cannabis bylaw officer has made enormous progress" in responding to resident complaints and issuing fines, involving the local OPP as needed.

But residents still complain that once shut down by police or abandoned by growers, the grow-op sites are left an unsightly mess.

Maybe there's been some bylaw enforcement, but not enough," said Norfolk challenger Culver.

Martin, also running for Norfolk mayor, said she would like to see more and stronger bylaws to address the issue of greenhouse grow-ops if it doesn't hamper agriculture."

New prescription for the health board?

At the Waterford all-candidates night, some council contenders were surprised to learn that, if elected, they would automatically become members of the local board of health.

This confusion is not limited to Ward 7.

Prior to the pandemic, having Norfolk councillors oversee the health unit did not overly tax their workload. But during the height of COVID-19, board of health meetings received arguably more public attention than regular council meetings, since board members heard from the medical officer of health and debated the county's pandemic response.

The health board had to stickhandle the legal action launched by Simcoe fruit farmer Brett Schuyler against former medical officer of health Shanker Nesathurai's order restricting bunkhouse occupancy for migrant workers during their quarantine period, a rule widely unpopular with farmers.

More recently, the board hired acting medical officer of health Matt Strauss, who has become known across the province for his opposition to masking and vaccine mandates. Strauss has encouraged vaccination to protect against COVID-19, but his health unit remains among the least vaccinated in the province.

(Hiring Strauss) is one of the most controversial decisions that I'm most proud of," Chopp said at the recent debate. He's providing a different side to the story."

The board of health makes decisions that affect Norfolk and Haldimand, as the two counties share a health unit and other social services. But no Haldimand councillors sit on the board despite Haldimand making up 40 per cent of the population.

Wary the health board has become too political, some candidates have suggested adding Haldimand councillors to increase accountability or replacing elected officials with residents who would be appointed based on their relevant expertise.

But the board of health was set up by the province, and municipal councillors cannot change its structure without the approval of the health ministry.

Creatures of the province

It's a truism in planning circles that municipalities are creatures of the province. Municipal councils control many aspects of daily life, but on some of the more contentious files facing Haldimand and Norfolk, councillors are handcuffed by provincial rules.

Whether it's repairing rural gas wells leaking toxic fumes, widening Highway 6 to alleviate traffic woes, fixing the sagging Caledonia bridge or approving construction on hazard land in Long Point, the province is in charge.

There are lots of folks that get a bit of a rude awakening when they enter council chambers for the first time and start hearing from staff what they legally can and cannot do," Caldwell, the Guelph professor, said.

In some cases, Caldwell added, the best local councils can do is advocate for provincial resources and attention.

Over his long career in municipal planning, Caldwell has observed that good municipal leadership is the foundation of rural economic development.

Leadership is about listening to staff, because staff are there as professionals. Being informed, balanced in point of view, listening to all sides," he said.

I don't think it's about banging the table. It's having the integrity to not just say what people want to hear, but what's proper and correct."

J.P. Antonacci's reporting on Haldimand and Norfolk is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative. jpantonacci@thespec.com