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Understanding and Steps for the Letter of Objection and Right to Appeal a Special Official Town Amendment
To Erin & Hillsburgh Residents,
Letter of Objection & Right to Appeal a Special Official Town Amendment
Sewage Hook-Up & Decommissioning of Household Septic System and Well
Make a copy of the letter below this notice then send to the Town of Erin ASAP!!!
Without this letter being submitted to the Town of Erin, YOU will lose any opportunity to “Appeal” the Official Town Amendment if the Councilors vote to accept. Your household would be locked into having to pay for sewage hook-up immediately.
The Mayor may call a “Special Meeting” imminently, then ram through the process of selecting a contractor for the sewage treatment system. (Bids from construction contractors to build Erin’s sewage plant were extended to Friday, March 18, 2022.)
A meeting will include the Amendment of the Town of Erin Official Plan which will require you to pay for the sewage pipe that goes past your property and to connect.
Then Erin will be able to charge you, as the property owner, for a major portion of the sewage collection system! This will basically provide the Town with the financial means to obtain funding for the sewage plant.
Without this letter being submitted, YOU will lose any opportunity to “Appeal” the Official Town Amendment if the Councilors vote to accept.
STEPS:
You will not be able to Appeal a Town Amendment, should you choose to do so, without sending this letter.
Open up the option to participate in an appeal process.
Please pass this information on to everyone you know in Erin and Hillsburgh before it is too late.
ECAC Erin Citizen Awareness Committee
www.ecacawareness.com
erincitizenawarenesscommittee@gmail.com
519-820-6974
Letter of Objection & Right to Appeal a Special Official Town Amendment
Sewage Hook-Up & Decommissioning of Household Septic System and Well
Make a copy of the letter below this notice then send to the Town of Erin ASAP!!!
Without this letter being submitted to the Town of Erin, YOU will lose any opportunity to “Appeal” the Official Town Amendment if the Councilors vote to accept. Your household would be locked into having to pay for sewage hook-up immediately.
The Mayor may call a “Special Meeting” imminently, then ram through the process of selecting a contractor for the sewage treatment system. (Bids from construction contractors to build Erin’s sewage plant were extended to Friday, March 18, 2022.)
A meeting will include the Amendment of the Town of Erin Official Plan which will require you to pay for the sewage pipe that goes past your property and to connect.
Then Erin will be able to charge you, as the property owner, for a major portion of the sewage collection system! This will basically provide the Town with the financial means to obtain funding for the sewage plant.
Without this letter being submitted, YOU will lose any opportunity to “Appeal” the Official Town Amendment if the Councilors vote to accept.
STEPS:
- See letter on back and insert your information where required.
- Mail or send your Letter of Objection to Ms. Lisa Campion, Clerk, Town of Erin clerks@erin.ca
- Highly recommended, but optional - make a copy. Take one to the Erin Town Hall and have them date stamp it in front of you and the second copy have it date stamped at the same time for your records. If this is not done the Town may deny ever receiving your Objection.
- It is up to you if you wish to include your phone number and/or email address below your signature line.
You will not be able to Appeal a Town Amendment, should you choose to do so, without sending this letter.
Open up the option to participate in an appeal process.
Please pass this information on to everyone you know in Erin and Hillsburgh before it is too late.
ECAC Erin Citizen Awareness Committee
www.ecacawareness.com
erincitizenawarenesscommittee@gmail.com
519-820-6974
Letter of Objection
Ms. Lisa Campion March 18, 2022
Clerk, Town of Erin
5684 Trafalgar Road
Hillsburgh, ON
N0B1Z0
clerks@erin.ca
Without Prejudice
Re: Amendment to the Town of Erin Official Plan - file OPA 13
To Ms. Campion,
This letter is to be received by you as the Clerk of the Town of Erin and passed on to Ms. Tanjot Bol, the Town of Erin Planning Department, the Mayor and all Council members prior to the Amendment of the Official Plan being put before Council for review.
The purpose of this letter is to object to the 3rd paragraph of section 2.17, paragraph 3;
“Where, and as, local municipal services become available along property boundaries, adjacent owners shall connect to municipal services and decommission any existing wells and septic tanks. Adjacent owners may be subject to service area charges.”
This paragraph allows the Town of Erin to make an arbitrary decision, at any time, that could result in any property owner that may have a sewage collection pipe close to their property becoming financially responsible for a portion, if not the total amount, of the cost of the collection system as well as having to immediately decommission their perfectly good septic system as well as all the related cost to do so and connect to the collection system no matter what the cost to the property owner is.
This is not acceptable. There are far too many variables and no accurate costing being presented to the taxpayer. There are only unsubstantiated estimates. Again, this is not acceptable.
The Town does not have the legal right to “force” any existing property into connecting into a new municipal service nor the legal right to “force” a property owner to pay for “any” portion of the new municipal system. The Town of Erin cannot “force” anyone to go into debt for any reason. The Town of Erin cannot “force” changes to any existing private property nor can the Town of Erin place a “Levy” on a property for municipal services not connected to the property.
I trust the Town of Erin will remove this paragraph from the proposed Amendment and confirm by return mail, to the address above, a response to this letter prior to any presentation of the Amendment to the Council.
Also, I wish to be made aware of any presentation, at least 24 hours prior to the presentation, to be made to the Council regarding the proposed Amendment OPA-13.
Lastly, this letter is also an “Official” “Request of Notice of Decision” stating the acceptance or denial of the Amendment as provided by the Municipal Act immediately following the decision.
Respectfully, Your Name: ______________________________________________________
Your Address: _____________________________________________________
Signature Email: ____________________________________________________________
Clerk, Town of Erin
5684 Trafalgar Road
Hillsburgh, ON
N0B1Z0
clerks@erin.ca
Without Prejudice
Re: Amendment to the Town of Erin Official Plan - file OPA 13
To Ms. Campion,
This letter is to be received by you as the Clerk of the Town of Erin and passed on to Ms. Tanjot Bol, the Town of Erin Planning Department, the Mayor and all Council members prior to the Amendment of the Official Plan being put before Council for review.
The purpose of this letter is to object to the 3rd paragraph of section 2.17, paragraph 3;
“Where, and as, local municipal services become available along property boundaries, adjacent owners shall connect to municipal services and decommission any existing wells and septic tanks. Adjacent owners may be subject to service area charges.”
This paragraph allows the Town of Erin to make an arbitrary decision, at any time, that could result in any property owner that may have a sewage collection pipe close to their property becoming financially responsible for a portion, if not the total amount, of the cost of the collection system as well as having to immediately decommission their perfectly good septic system as well as all the related cost to do so and connect to the collection system no matter what the cost to the property owner is.
This is not acceptable. There are far too many variables and no accurate costing being presented to the taxpayer. There are only unsubstantiated estimates. Again, this is not acceptable.
The Town does not have the legal right to “force” any existing property into connecting into a new municipal service nor the legal right to “force” a property owner to pay for “any” portion of the new municipal system. The Town of Erin cannot “force” anyone to go into debt for any reason. The Town of Erin cannot “force” changes to any existing private property nor can the Town of Erin place a “Levy” on a property for municipal services not connected to the property.
I trust the Town of Erin will remove this paragraph from the proposed Amendment and confirm by return mail, to the address above, a response to this letter prior to any presentation of the Amendment to the Council.
Also, I wish to be made aware of any presentation, at least 24 hours prior to the presentation, to be made to the Council regarding the proposed Amendment OPA-13.
Lastly, this letter is also an “Official” “Request of Notice of Decision” stating the acceptance or denial of the Amendment as provided by the Municipal Act immediately following the decision.
Respectfully, Your Name: ______________________________________________________
Your Address: _____________________________________________________
Signature Email: ____________________________________________________________
THE SOLUTION TO POLLUTION IS NOT DILUTION!
IT IS NOT TOO LATE TO ASK TOWN COUNCIL TO DO THE RIGHT THING
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THE CONCERN: Through this proposed sewage treatment plant process, nowhere has the Province of Ontario officially instructed the Town of Erin to grow. The Provincial Places to Grow Act simply asked that all of Wellington County accommodate an additional 90,000 people by 2051. It is important to remember that speculators who bought properties being proposed for development, are just that, speculators. Many purchased their lands as far back as 1992 and are now using the Province's growth plans to their benefit, having zoning bylaws amended, so they can become developers. Developers who take advantage of the proposed sewage treatment plant are using taxpayers' funds and town staff to oversee their end goals. Other communities have had developers be fully responsible for their entire sewage collection and operating costs, to ultimately have the local municipality take over. If Town Council considered this approach, there would be no cost to existing Erin taxpayers.
THE ACTION: Call or email town councillors expressing a deeper look at viable alternatives to polluting the West Credit River. Town of Erin: Call 519-855-4407 Mayor Allan Alls: 519-855-4407 ext. 232 email: allan.alls@erin.ca Councillor John Brennan: phone: 519-833-7309 email: john.brennan@erin.ca Councillor Jamie Cheyne: 519-855-6310 email: jamie.cheyne@erin.ca Councillor Michael Robins: phone: 647-302-6426 email: michael.robins@erin.ca Councillor Rob Smith: phone: 416-540-4336 email: rob.smith@erin.ca Councillor Jeff Duncan, Ward 9: phone: 519-400-8297 email: jeffd@wellington.ca |
THE CONCERN: Town Council unanimously approved and October 2020 motion for a full cost disclosure of the entire sewage collection and treatment system, and related well water projects. Chief Accounting Officer Nathan Hyde stated on October 27th that he would direct his staff to compile this list of expenses. This has yet to happen. Municipal employees are subject to taxpayer scrutiny, you pay their salary!
THE ACTION: Start demanding the truth and transparency promised by the CAO and file a request with the Ontario Ombudsman. CAO Nathan Hyde: 519-855-4407 ext. 222 email: nathan.hyde@erin.ca Ombudsman Ontario (Ontario's Watchdog): Ombudsman Ontario Complaint Form: General THE CONCERN: Provincial Minister of Environment, Conservation and Parks Jeff Yurek approved the 2019 Environmental Assessment on August 29th. Independent third-party analysis uncovered numerous deficiencies and oversights, of things such as effluent temperature control, chlorine and ammonia level studies and species at risk studies (Quick Facts Sheet Here). The approval was granted with little notification to downstream stakeholders. As a result, the Coalition for the West Credit River has filed for a designation request to do a more robust Federal Impact Assessment on February 25, 2021.
THE ACTION: Contact the Minister of the Environment and Climate Change at the house of Commons and ask him to designate Erin's proposed sewage treatment plant for a Federal Impact Assessment. MP Jonathan Wilkinson: Phone: 613-995-1215 email: EC.Ministre-Minister.EC@canada.ca Contact every other MP you can think of and ask them to support Minister Wilkson. |
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THE CONCERN: The Credit River watershed is home to at least 44 Species at Risk (SAR). Easter meadowlark, wild turkeys, porcupines, salamanders and snapping turtles join brook trout in being placed at risk from the proposed sewage treatment plant. There is presently an active beaver building its dam habitat in the West Credit River just West of Winston Churchill Road.
THE ACTION: Contact the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry and ask them to support the Coalition's designation request for a Federal Impact Assessment. Contact William Glass, Fish and Habitat Protection Program, Dept. of Fisheries and Oceans: email: William.Glass@dfo-mpo.gc.ca Contact Lloyd Longfield MP for Guelph and ask him to support the designation for a Federal Impact Assessment: Phone: 519-837-8276 email: Lloyd.Longfield@parl.gc.ca Contact Michael Chong, MP Wellington-Halton Hills: phone: 519-843-7344 email: Michael.Chong@parl.gc.ca |
THE CONCERN: Numerous alternatives to a central sewage collection system and treatment plant were presented with technically advanced and less expensive options. These options were not taken to Town Council nor presented for public input and consultation. Even Chantler's Environmental Services was prepared to build, fund and operate a sewage treatment facility, to code, to use a subsurface distribution that would provide agricultural irrigation. This would have been expandable to eventually connect Hillsburgh as well. This proposal was not brought before council. From an undisclosed to $2 land purchase, development deals and associated development charges, council owes Erin residents fully transparent disclosure.
THE ACTION: Contact Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing to request they conduct a complete review of the town's handling of sewage treatment plant planning. alternatives and funding. MP Steve Clark, Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing: phone: 416-585-7000 or 613-342-9522 email: Steve.Clark@pc.ola.org |
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