By Mike Renzella
The Haldimand Press
NANTICOKE—Haldimand Mayor Shelley Bentley, who campaigned largely on the issue of stopping a proposed large-scale development in Nanticoke from proceeding, put forward a motion at a Council-in-committee meeting last Monday aimed at accomplishing that goal.
In March 2022, the previous Council passed a resolution requesting the Ontario Government provide a Minister’s Zoning Order (MZO) for the lands in question as a first step to the proposed development from Empire Homes. The new motion directs County staff to arrange for public consultations on the matter, including community meetings, to gather input for Council’s consideration to “withdraw its current resolution requesting a Minister’s Zoning Order.”
Bentley listed the reasons why she is putting the motion forward, namely:
- A municipal election was held where this matter was one of the main issues under consideration;
- The Province has passed new legislation, Bill 23, that has the potential to adversely impact municipal financing as it relates to growth and development;
- The County has an approved growth strategy that includes servicing and financial strategies aligned with provincial requirements to accommodate a population of 77,000 people and 29,000 jobs by 2051;
- The proposed new Nanticoke community represents additional growth beyond that required under Provincial ‘Places to Grow’ legislation.
“The public is concerned about a community of 40,000 in an industrial park and how that will affect themselves, services, and the future of our county. People are concerned that a development of this size, with the MZO, overrides local planning authorities and public consultation, meaning Haldimand County residents have no opportunity to voice their concerns and provide input,” said Bentley. “Since the Province issued Bill 23, this will affect the ‘growth pays for growth’ expression, which has previously made good business sense for the County.”
The Press also reached out to retiring Haldimand CAO Craig Manley, and all six Haldimand councillors, to share their thoughts on the motion and whether or not they are in agreement with the mayor’s goal. All declined to comment, with the councillors stating that they would like to wait until the motion is officially brought to the floor to speak on the topic.
Despite four of the six current councillors having been on the previous Council that voted in favour of the MZO request, Bentley said the issue has not caused any friction or disagreements with other members of Council of County staff, adding, “Each are entitled to their own opinions, and the majority of constituents voted for a mayor who campaigned on bringing this issue forward.”
During an interview following her election win, Bentley stated her first order of business would be putting forth such a motion. She also attempted to arrange a meeting with the Minister of Municipal Affairs at a recent Rural Ontario Municipality Association conference to inquire about the MZO’s status, but the request was denied.
“Minister Steven Clark denied our request to meet at the Rural Ontario Municipal Association Conference, and as of this date there has been no correspondence from his office. The lack of communication from Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing is a challenge. I do hope Council supports this motion to seek public consultation,” said the mayor.
Bentley’s mayoral campaign used the slogan ‘Say No To The MZO’ as a focal point. At The Haldimand Press mayoral debate, held on October 12, 2022, she stated, “If we grow and double our population, what will more people cost us? … What will the doubling of our population really cost with an increase in ambulances, increase in doctors, schools; there’s infrastructure issues that would need to be dealt with. I’m all for growth, but we need to control the growth.”
The motion will be up for discussion at a Council meeting on February 28. To move forward, it will need to be supported by two Councillors, and then win a majority vote.
The Press will have more coverage as this story develops.
