July 6 Bylaw Amendment Meeting

There will be a public meeting Monday, July 6th, 2020 at 7:30 p.m. at Milton Community Hall.

Council has received an application submitted by a resident on the Rustico Rd. who wishes to have an export car lot on his property.

This is not a permitted use in the current Development Bylaw, which states:

4.7.1. A commercial use may operate in a dwelling or in an accessory building to a dwelling on a residential lot provided:

1. The owner of the business ordinarily resides in the dwelling;
2. Not more than two (2) employees live outside the dwelling;
3. Not more than twenty five percent (25%) of the floor area of the dwelling is used for the commercial use;
4. Adequate off-highway parking is provided on the lot for both the dwelling and the commercial use in accordance with Appendix 3;
5. No outdoor storage of materials or outdoor product display is used in conjunction with the commercial use, and where the commercial use involves services for vehicles, no more than 3 vehicles, in addition to those registered to the property owner may be parked or stored on the lot at any time, additional vehicles may be parked or stored on the lot within a wholly enclosed building
6. A maximum of two (2) commercial vehicles may be parked or stored on the lot, and additional vehicles may be parked or stored on the lot within a wholly enclosed building.
7. Premise signs shall be restricted to a maximum of 0.56 m2 (6 ft2);
8. No mechanical equipment shall be used on the lot except what is reasonably consistent with the use of the dwelling;
9. The external appearance of the dwelling is not altered; and
10. Where the property is serviced by an on-site water supply and sewerage disposal system, the intensification of use and any necessary upgrades to the system(s) must be approved by the responsible provincial government department.

4.7.2. The following commercial uses are permitted on a residential property:

1. Home daycare, subject to provincial regulations;
2. Tourist establishment, subject to Section 4.6 of this bylaw;
3. A personal service shop;
4. Home office, providing clerical, computer and/or telephone based services;
5. Custom sewing, crafts or production of visual arts
6. Multi-level marketing retail sales;
7. Catering, for off-premise delivery of products;
8. Private lessons, tutoring or training sessions;
9. Health and wellness services; and
10. Craft Studio

4.7.3. Notwithstanding the above provisions, but after having followed the process in Section 3.15.5 of this bylaw, Council may approve an alternative commercial use provided Council is satisfied the commercial use will be compatible with adjacent land uses, and that no permanent injury will be caused to the existing and permitted uses of adjoining properties.

As noted above, residents and landowners can apply to Council, who may approve an alternative commercial use. Landowners within 500 ft of the property are notified in writing and given 14 days to comment (as per section 3.15.5). Planning Board considers the responses and makes a recommendation to Council. This process is currently underway for the property which wishes to be able to have an export car lot. This process to add a potential use can happen for any property, and if approved, is only in effect for that particular property. Each property is considered on a case-by-case basis.

This is not the purpose of the Public Meeting which has been called to address the associated bylaw amendment.

Information about the Bylaw Amendment:

Clause 4.7.1(v), in the section about commercial use on a residential property, limits the number of cars parked or stored on a lot to three more than are registered at the property, unless they are inside a building. This is not viable for an export car lot; therefore, the owner has also applied to have an amendment made to the Development Bylaws to permit him to store cars outdoors.

One of the necessary steps to change, add, or delete any regulation in the bylaw is a public meeting. This allows Planning Board and Council to gather comments from residents to assist them in their decision-making.

The proposed wording of a possible amendment could be inserted after 4.7.3. (Section 3.15.5 in the bylaw refers to the sending notice to neighbours within 500 ft. and giving them 134 days to comment.)

Proposed addition:

“4.7.4. After following the process in Section 3.15.5 of this bylaw, Council may approve a commercial use and waive the regulations of Section 4.7.1(v) in the Agricultural (A1) Zone, if the proposed outdoor storage is not considered to be an obnoxious use, and it will be located in the rear yard and screened from view by means of a landscape buffer of adequate size or architectural screening such as a wall, fence or other appropriate structure.”

*Note the definition for obnoxious use includes noise, smells, unsightly storage, dust etc.

This amendment may change as the proposal is debated. There may also be an amendment proposed that limits the total number of cars permitted to be stored on a property. If the proposed amendment is passed, it could then pertain to all the properties in the Agricultural (A1) Zone. As it is written, Council would need to give approval, and nearby residents would be consulted. Most of the land in the municipality is zoned Agricultural. Exceptions would be the Sleepy Hollow area, Hiddenview and Miller Drive areas, and the Commercial and Institutional zoned properties. The zoning map is on the planning section of miltonvalepark.com.

The residents proposing this amendment were given the opportunity to share some information prior to the public meeting, and the following letter was submitted (It has been edited for clarity):

June 10, 2020

 To whom it may concern,

 We are applying for an outdoor storage lot at 1030 Rustico Road, North Milton, for vehicles that will be exported to the US. The area for the storage is 36 ft by 65ft where the vehicles will be held till time of shipping. There will be 6-8 vehicles at a time. There will not be any work done on the vehicles at time of storage. It will strictly be storage only. As for the resident in the community, there will be nothing for them to be worried about – such as noise, people coming and going at all hours. The vehicles will be lined up in a proper manner. It won’t be an eye sore for anyone. In order to meet all obligations for my Dealers License for Highway Safety, there will have to be a sign on the building and one at the road, stating “Neill’s Auto Exports”. The sign will be approximately 2ft by 2 ft at the road. The sign on the building will be as required. We have also spoken with some of neighbors and they said they have no problem with an outdoor storage.

Thank you,

Arthur & Heather Neill

The public meeting to consider this bylaw amendment was originally scheduled for March 30, 2020 but needed to be postponed due to COVID-19. As there will still be limits and restrictions on public gatherings, residents are asked to pre-register to attend the public meeting by noon Monday, July 6th by emailing admin@miltonvalepark.com or by phone at 902-368-3090.  Seating will be arranged so that 6 ft. separation will be maintained between households. The meeting will also be available online. Please email admin@miltonvalepark.com to receive a link and for information on how to view the meeting.

Questions may be submitted to develop@miltonvalepark.com or 902-368-3090 before the meeting. There will be a list of questions and answers listed below, to enable those who do not feel comfortable attending a public meeting to have full participation.

Written submissions and comments must be received at develop@miltonvalepark.com, or at the Council Office at the Milton Community Hall (fax 902-368-1152, or 7B New Glasgow Road, Rte 224, North Milton PE C1E 0S7) before 12 noon, Wednesday, July 8.

FAQ:

Q: Where will cars get loaded onto carrier trucks? On the road?

A: No, no loading of cars will happen at the proposed location. They are usually driven individually to the USA. If they are to be carried on flatbed trucks, they will be loaded elsewhere.

Q: Why can’t this procedure be done through a variance? Why does it have to be a bylaw amendment?

A: Due to a change in provincial legislation, and as recently incorporated into our bylaws -there are only very limited instances where a variance is permitted. If the request for a variance doesn’t fall within those measurements – a variance cannot be granted.