Land Use Planning, Regulations & Permits

• Fees for Maps, Aerial Photos & Applications for Consent

• Application for Consent/UTRCA Permit Application Form

• Ontario Regulation 97/04: Development, Interference with Wetlands, & Alterations to Shorelines & Watercourses (pdf file)

• Conservation Ontario's Class Environmental Assessment for Remedial Flood and Erosion Control Projects

• Planning News - updates from Conservation Ontario Planning Committee

What we do:

• provide, on a beneficiary pays basis, land use planning advisory services, regulatory approvals and inquiry services to reduce the risk to life and property from natural hazards and to protect natural resources from inappropriate uses

Examples:

• providing municipal planning advisory services to identify natural hazard concerns (e.g. flood plains and steep slopes), identify and protect natural heritage (e.g. woodlands, wetlands, fisheries, threatened and endangered species), and identify servicing concerns

• responding to property inquiries (legal, real estate and general information)

• coordinating subwatershed plan implementation recommendations for area municipalities, including organizing public involvement, updating state of the watershed information, and reporting to stakeholders

• providing resource mapping, flood elevations, and technical reviews and clearances

• refining existing mapping resources and identifying areas that are not currently mapped

• supplying expert technical advice in areas such as hydrology, hydrogeology, ecology, bioengineering, stream morphology and land use planning

• administering approvals and investigating violations related to the Fill, Construction and Alteration to Waterways Regulation made pursuant to the Conservation Authorities Act (download Application for Consent/UTRCA Permit Application Form - pdf file)

• providing screening and mitigation level reviews under the Federal Fisheries Act

• liaising between municipalities and other government agencies

• participating in the development and transfer of new technology

• providing project coordination for and participating on project teams for resource planning related matters

Why:

• reduce the risk to life and property from natural hazards such as flooding and unstable slopes

• complement other UTRCA mission centres such as flood control and watershed planning

• promote wise use of land and water resources for future generations

• comply with legislative requirements at the local level

• keep the public informed of natural hazards and natural heritage resources planning

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Land use planning and regulations consider and manage the natural environment within the process of land use planning and development. Many of the UTRCA’s activities fall within this category:

• reviewing and commenting on the environmental implications of land use planning applications such as severances, subdivisions and rezonings;

• reviewing and approving applications made under the Fill, Construction and Alteration to Waterways Regulation and other related regulations;

• creating, reviewing and cataloguing mapping, environmental inventories and assessments; and

• serving as an information centre for inquiries from landowners, potential landowners, lawyers, municipalities, and community groups interested in environmental legislation, approvals and stewardship.

The CA addresses four general areas or components within land use planning:

• Natural Heritage;

• Natural Hazards;

• Natural Resources; and

• Environmental Servicing.

These areas are interconnected within the broader field of watershed ecosystem planning. This reflects the complexities among and within ecosystems. All the individual components and their interconnections must be understood in order to effectively manage the whole system, as well as individual parts or segments.

Natural Heritage

Natural heritage focuses on natural features and their functions, as opposed to the human history and built structures that make up our cultural heritage. Natural heritage includes:

• geologic features and landforms;

• associated terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems;

• plant species, populations and communities; and

• all native animal species, their habitats and sustaining environments.

Woodlots, wetlands, Areas of Natural and Scientific Interest (ANSIs), and valley lands are all natural heritage features. These features also possess functions which may link them together within the ecosystem, so that alterations to one feature may affect another.

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Natural Hazards

Natural hazards are caused by the natural processes around us. These processes pose risks and problems to society when we do not fully understand them or deal with them effectively in our development activities.

Flooding, erosion, and unstable slopes are common hazard issues addressed through the UTRCA’s environmental planning activities.

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Natural Resources

In the context of land use planning, natural resources include the agricultural landbase, surface and ground water, and aggregate resources. Managing these natural resources wisely is an important part of environmental planning, ensuring that ecosystem and watershed health is maintained.

Agriculture is the primary land use in rural Southwestern Ontario. For this reason, soil stewardship and conservation have a key role in protecting and enhancing the watershed ecosystems.

Surface and groundwater are also important natural resources within the watershed ecosystem. Drainage related issues, which were the primary reason for the formation of Conservation Authorities, include river water conservation, flooding, river flow augmentation, and recreational use. Municipal drains constructed under the Municipal Drainage Act are common in this part of southwestern Ontario and have altered the natural hydrologic cycle.

Aggregate resources (e.g. sand and gravel deposits) are also significant natural resources and play an important role in supporting the economic development of this area.

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Environmental Servicing

Environmental servicing focuses on measures taken to manage or limit the potential negative impact of development on the watershed. Any development commonly includes site alterations and drainage changes that temporarily or permanently alter the land surface and affect the hydrologic cycle. All these activities can have serious negative impacts on the watershed ecosystem.

Environmental servicing includes issues such as stormwater management and erosion and sediment control.

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Watershed Planning

Watershed planning is the most effective and comprehensive systems-based approach being used for ecosystem planning. To promote watershed health, UTRCA initiatives based on watersheds and subwatersheds consider factors beyond the traditional regulatory responsibility of flood control, pollution and conservation of land. As provincial policies recognize, this is the most effective way of developing management strategies and practices for water-related resources.

Watershed planning helps ensure that the implications of local planning decisions are assessed throughout the watershed and that environmental problems are avoided. It is also an effective way to integrate the requirements of land use policies, particularly those which are water related, in the Provincial Policy Statement.

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