PELHAM FARMER HAS DIFFERENT TAKE ON BILL 23

MORE HOMES BUILT FASTER ACT JUST 1 ISSUE BEING FACED BY SECTOR, DAVE KLYN-HESSELINK SAYS

While the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) has come out against Bill 23, for one Pelham farmer, it is only a small piece of the puzzle when it comes to problem for those in the agricultural sector.

"People need to live somewhere, said Dave Klyn-Hesselink, who along with wife, Christine, operates Fenwick Berry Farm on Balfour Street. "I look at it slightly different."

He said a bigger issue is prime agricultural land being lost to what he called "country estates" when people buy up farms, demolish barns and farmhouses and then proceed to build palatial homes with highly manicured, landscaped properties.

"It's a problem that is happening everywhere," he said.

As a result, agricultural land that remains is fetching premium prices, too high for someone looking to get into farming.

"The prices of the land are outside what farmers can pay," he said. "Nobody can go anywhere and buy 100 acres to farm and be able to make the payments."

Under the More Homes Built Faster Act, the official name of Bill 23, the province plans to carve out 7,400 acres from the Greenbelt, including 88 acres in Niagara (Grimsby) while adding 9,400 in other areas around the GTA. According to the province, the move will facilitate the building of 50,000 new homes. The province's stated goal is to build 1.5 million homes over the next decade.

The legislation has sparked protests across the province and in Niagara, most recently in Pelham on Jan. 14, where Niagara West Conservative MPP Sam Oosterhoff was hosting his annual New Year's Levee.

Klyn-Hesselink said part of the problem is that when people think of the act, they are thinking of green space as opposed to farmlands.

OFA

vice-president

Drew Spoelstra said that when people think about the act, they only consider the Greenbelt, but in fact, the act goes beyond whatever number of acres are being removed or added. Farms are not at top of mind in the debate.

The OFA says farmland makes up five per cent of the land base in Ontario and that right now 313 acres of farmland are being lost daily in Ontario. It will only get worse with the passage of the act, Spoelstra said.

"The loss of farmland will continue to rise," Spoelstra said.

Additionally, with some development charges being eliminated, the money has got to come from somewhere and it is municipalities who will more than likely foot the bill.

"What does this mean to the tax base," he said. "Farmers are a big part of this. Studies say they pay their fair share."

Rather than expand urban boundaries and eliminate agricultural land, Spoelstra said growth needs to be contained within current boundaries. For example, he said Hamilton was ordered last November, on the same day Bill 23 was announced, to expand its urban boundary ostensibly "to meet growth targets."

Klyn-Hesselink, meanwhile, said he has no real beef with the plan, provided the government is careful.

"It has to be done intelligently," he said.

Potential farmland can be made more affordable by allowing purchasers to sever a portion of the land they purchased and selling it off to be used for housing.

"If you can sever it off, it gives you a little bit of security."

He used an example of a 22-and-a-half-acre property listed for sale on Highway 20 at Balfour that is listed for sale at $1.6 million.

"It I could buy that and sever off half an acre and sell it for $300,000, that other 22 acres might be economical for me to farm."

STORY BEHIND THE STORY: People who work in the agriculture sector have been largely unheard in the debate over the passage of the More Homes Built Faster Act. Niagara This Week spoke with a representative of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture and a farmer in Pelham to see how they will be impacted.