BARRHEAD - A County of Barrhead property owner will have to accept a slightly smaller property for his yard site.
County of Barrhead councillors denied an application to create an oversized 17-acre County Residential lot of a quarter section by a 6-1 vote during their April 15 meeting.
Coun. Bill Lane was opposed.
Oyarzun said the property is in an Agricultural District and was previously unsubdivided, with the proposed lot being the old yard site.
"[The applicant] removed the old house, but a shop and outbuildings remain, including a surface discharge septic system," she said.
Oyarzun added the shop was a recent addition to the property and had not been properly permitted, saying one of the conditions for approval would need to include an "as built" development permit.
Oyarzun said that under the county's municipal development plan (MDP), the minimum area for developing a County Residential parcel in an Agricultural District is three acres up to a maximum of 10 acres.
"So the ask for 17 acres doesn't check the box, but the MDP does allow [council or the subdivision authority] to consider up to 15 acres with the submission of a [real property report or RPR]," she said.
However, Oyarzun said the MDP does allow for a farmstead separation of up to 17 acres with the submission of an RPR, demonstrating the additional acreage to maintain the integrity of the farm site.
"The problem is we are not sure the real property report demonstrates the need for the extra two acres to maintain the integrity of the farm," she said.
Instead, Oyarzun said the county's municipal planner's recommendation was for the council to approve, with a series of half a dozen conditions, to allow the applicant to take 15 acres out of the quarter for a Country Residential parcel.
She added that the quarter is adjacent to Range Road 30 and that access to the proposed lot would be via Range Road 25.
"The approach, built by an oil company, meets county standards," she said, noting one of the conditions of approving any sized country residential subdivision would be to ensure the energy company signed off on access.
Other conditions would include the applicant entering into a road widening agreement with the municipality on the eastern boundary that all crossings and culverts meet county standards, a real property report is submitted, a septic inspection, and an "as-built" development permit to get the existing shop building into compliance.
Nate Wilson, the applicant's surveyor, said they asked for the extra two acres to maximize the amount of farmable land, noting the two "extra" acres were heavily treed and unsuitable for agricultural production.
One of the applicants, Kevin Faryna, agreed, adding in addition to being treed, there are coolies and include steep areas as well as marshland.
"I grew up on a farm and understand the importance of protecting land for agricultural use, but it is unusable as farmland," he said.
Faryna added that they wanted more land for the parcel if they ever decided to have cattle.
Councillors Walter Preugschas, Ron Kleinfeldt and Jared Stoik, while understanding why the Faryna wanted to include the extra land as part of the Country Residential lot, found it challenging to go against the municipality's rules.
"I'm conflicted," Stoik said. "I understand the reasons for going bigger and that the extra land isn't impacting farmland, but it doesn't meet our requirements, and by accepting it, we would be setting a precedent."
Barry Kerton, TownandCountryToday.com
