Agriculture & Rural Affairs

Members

Chair:

Vice Chair:

Members:

Ex officio:

Councillor
Doug Thompson

Councillor Eli El-Chantiry

Councillor Glenn Brooks,
Councillor Rob Jellett
Councillor Gord Hunter

Mayor Larry O’Brien

The Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee (“the Committee”) is responsible for promoting and protecting the interests and needs of the City’s rural areas, as identified in Schedule A of the City of Ottawa’s Official Plan (Attachment 1) and defined as follows: that ‘part of the City not intended for urban development’, which ‘contains a number of important natural resources and is characterized by the dominance of the natural rather than the built environment’. The Committee will consider and make recommendations to Council on issues and programs of special interest to residents and businesses in the rural areas including villages and hamlets, particularly agriculture and its associated industries.

Membership

Membership of the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee shall consist of up to nine (9) Councillors, appointed by the Nominating Committee and approved by City Council. Due to the unique nature of this committee, the majority membership shall be comprised of those Councillors representing wards with a rural component. The Mayor is an ex-officio member of the Committee.

General Responsibilities

The Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee shall:

  1. Be responsible directly to Council for those items emanating from:
    1. the Rural Affairs Office within the City Manager’s Office;
    2. all departments as they relate to rural and agricultural issues as defined by the City Manager, the Rural Affairs Officer, or the Committee and include:
      1. issues arising from the rural areas; and
      2. items with a distinct rural component or impact on rural residents.
    3. the City of Ottawa’s Rural Issues Advisory Committee, the Ottawa Forests and Greenspace Advisory Committee on rural forest issues, and the Local Architectural Conservation Advisory Committee and the Arts, Culture and Heritage Advisory Committee on rural heritage issues;
    4. the rural panel of the Committee of Adjustment;
    5. requests that may consider or address issues that are within the area of responsibility of the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee; and
    6. such entities as the agriculture and associated industries, rural businesses and rural communities and their residents, for matters that are brought forward and within the area of responsibility of the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee.

  2. The Committee will ensure that the unique interests and requirements of agriculture and associated industries, rural businesses, residents and communities are taken into account in the decisions made by the City of Ottawa.

  3. The Committee will promote the rural areas as places:
    1. where agriculture, associated industries and the rural economy will prosper;
    2. that are recognized as being fundamental to the City’s economic vitality and environmental sustainability; and
    3. where hamlets and villages, the visual landscape, the natural and built environments and the rural character and quality of life are protected.

  4. Determine priority issues within the mandate of the Committee for review and recommend resolution to City Council.

  5. Make recommendations to Council on legislation, programs and funding matters that are brought forward from federal and provincial governments and other agencies which have an impact on agriculture and associated industries, rural businesses, rural communities and their residents and which are within the Committee’s mandate.

  6. Monitor City of Ottawa programs and projects with a distinct rural component or impact on rural areas.

  7. Ensure active public participation by receiving delegations from the public and holding public hearings on issues that fall within its mandate.

  8. Subsequent to the approval of the budget consider, for recommendation to Council, all operating and capital budget adjustments that are within the existing funding envelopes for the Rural Affairs Office.

  9. Subsequent to the approval of the budget, consider, for recommendation to Council:
    1. the policy direction and prioritization, but not the funding requirements, of new matters which are within the Committee’s mandate; and
    2. matters which were not previously approved, but can be accommodated within the applicable departmental existing capital or operating budgets.

  10. Recommend for approval by Council, the membership and participation of its members as municipal representatives in relevant public associations and other government organizations, such as the Rural Ontario Municipal Association (“ROMA”).

  11. Pursuant to the Delegation of Authority By-law (Section – Conferences and Conventions), approve Councillors’ travel and attendance at conferences that are related to the Committee’s mandate, such as the Ontario Good Roads Association/ROMA Annual Conference.

  12. Review and recommend to Council revisions to the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee Terms of Reference, as required.

  13. Review and recommend to Council matters related to the Advisory Committee under the Standing Committee’s responsibility, such as the Advisory Committee’s membership, Terms of Reference, annual work plans, and reporting and funding requests.

  14. Recommend to Council proposed by-laws that are under the Committee’s jurisdiction (i.e. Kennels by-law, Appointment of Fence Viewers By-law, and Appointment of Livestock Valuers By-law).

  15. Recommend to Council, the City of Ottawa’s participation in federal or provincial cost-sharing programs or employment incentive programs for matters within the mandate of the Committee.

  16. Monitor federal and provincial legislation with a distinct impact on agriculture and its associated industries.

  17. Review and recommend to Council the recommendations submitted by the Commemorative Naming Committee with respect to commemorative naming of City parks and facilities in the rural areas.

  18. Receive an Annual report from the Rural Affairs Office on the City’s progress in promoting and enhancing the relationship between the City and its rural residents including:
    1. enhanced communication between rural residents, City Council and the City administration; and
    2. improved service delivery reflective of the needs of rural residents.

Specific Responsibilities

Agriculture
Land & Water Conservation, Wildlife & Forest Management
Rural Economic Development
Rural Land Use Planning And Servicing
Legal Services
Receive Delegations

Agriculture

Objectives

The Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee’s objectives are:

  • to support and encourage the appropriate and sustainable use of the land base for agriculture, forestry and recreation, and actively encourage the establishment and prosperity of farms and related businesses;
  • to identify and promote specialty-type agricultural operations and businesses such as woodlots, hydroponic greenhouses, orchards, nurseries, etc;
  • to identify ways to promote an understanding of the rural and agricultural communities and their issues;
  • to encourage the use of best practices in nutrient management in association with the rural areas and agricultural industry;
  • to encourage the establishment of agricultural operations that are compatible with the quality of life in the rural areas and existing agricultural operations; and
  • to encourage strong linkages between the City and federal, provincial and local research facilities in order to benefit from new applications in the agriculture sector.

Guidance and Direction

The Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee shall make recommendations to Council:

  • on matters pertaining to agriculture, agri-food, livestock, horticulture, associated industries and related policy matters;
  • on behalf of Ottawa’s agricultural sector, its farmers and farm organizations on matters affecting agriculture;
  • on issues relating to agri-business including farm labour, large scale agricultural operations, transportation, marketing and promotion of agri-businesses;
  • on issues that have significant implications for the rural population including: snowmobile and ATV use; hunting and firearms; use of private agriculture land for public recreational purposes; and wildlife management;
  • on matters pertaining to provincial nutrient management legislation including, consideration of issues and public input regarding a nutrient management strategy and nutrient management plans;
  • on all matters under the Drainage Act and serve as the Court of Revision for the purposes of the that legislation by reviewing assessment appeals;
  • on by-laws, policies and programs which predominantly or uniquely affect agriculture and associated industries, particularly those by-laws that deal with matters under the Farming and Food Protection Act, 1998, and the Weed Control Act;
  • in relation to the municipal role with respect to the administration of the Livestock, Poultry and Honey Bee Protection Act, and appoint livestock valuers from the community to review and process, through the City and in turn to the Province, claims for livestock losses caused by predators;
  • on the implementation of federal and provincial legislation related to farm practices;
  • on matters associated with the Line Fences Act such as appointment of fence viewers by-law;
  • on matters associated with topsoil removal on agricultural lands; and
  • on appointments to rural entities including Rural Business Improvement Associations (“BIAs”), the Mohr-Quyon Landing Port Authority, Carp Airport Authority, the rural panel of the Committee of Adjustment, conservation authorities in the rural areas and the Rural Issues Advisory Committee.

Land & Water Conservation, Wildlife & Forest Management

Objectives

The Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee’s objectives are to:

  • encourage the City to manage its rural land and water resources to contribute in a sustainable way to the development of the rural economy and to the quality of life for residents of the City as a whole, now and in the future and;
  • promote a safe supply of drinking water in the rural areas.

Guidance and Direction

The Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee shall make recommendations to Council:

  • on matters respecting the activities of federal and provincial governments as well as conservation authorities, in the management of water, land and associated resources within their jurisdiction and located in the City's rural areas;
  • on forest management in the rural areas including identifying the potential of managed forests for enhanced use, and supporting appropriate new forms of development and recreation that contribute to the rural economy;
  • on matters associated with rural issues as defined within the proposed Clean Waters Act 2005 and the Conservation Authority Act (i.e. Regulation 97/04: Development, Interference with Wetlands and Alterations to Shorelines and Watercourses);
  • on rural tree by-laws enacted under the Municipal Act, 2001, and encourage a high standard of private forest management;
  • on issues of rural servicing including water and wastewater;
  • on issues pertaining to the recreational use of City-owned properties in rural areas and regulations concerning the discharge of firearms within City limits; and
  • on matters with respect to the development of a comprehensive wildlife management strategy for the conservation, management and, where necessary, control of wildlife, in conjunction with the appropriate agencies.

Rural Economic Development

Objectives

The Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee’s objectives are to:

  • encourage the continued viability, vitality and growth of the economic base of the City’s rural areas, including its hamlets and villages;
  • support and reinforce a stable and diverse rural economy that is compatible with the natural environment and character of the rural areas;
  • promote agricultural fairs and rural exhibitions;
  • reinforce agriculture and associated services and businesses as an important part of the City’s economy;
  • promote the formation and the sustainability of markets and direct farm sales; and
  • support and encourage development of rural tourism in the collaboration with the Ottawa Rural Tourism Council.

Guidance and Direction

The Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee shall make recommendations to Council:

  • on economic development policy and other initiatives to encourage the growth of key sectors of the rural economy, including tourism;
  • on city-wide economic strategies which may have implications within the City’s rural areas; and
  • on matters relating to the rural BIA(s) as a means to support and promote economic development in the rural areas.

Rural Land Use Planning And Servicing

Objectives

The Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee’s objectives are to:

  • encourage the orderly development and management of growth that maintains and strengthens the character of the City’s rural areas, including its hamlets and villages;
  • promote the concentration of rural growth within established and planned settlements;
  • advocate the protection of the agricultural land base; and
  • promote a cost-effective, environmentally sound, comprehensive servicing policy for the City’s hamlets and villages.

Guidance and Direction

The Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee shall make recommendations to Council:

  • on land use planning, environment and infrastructure, including development of private services where policies apply to the City’s rural areas;
  • on agricultural and village development area policies related to the City’s rural areas, its hamlets and villages; and
  • on policies related to the location, use and reclamation of future and existing landfill sites, pits and quarries.

Planning

The Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee shall:

  • when applicable, receive reports on staff action, including approval functions delegated by Council, for the following planning matters as they relate to the rural areas:
  • subdivision and condominium applications;
  • extensions of draft plan approvals;
  • site plan control applications;
  • approval of zoning by-laws;
  • land severance applications and minor variances granted by the rural panel of the Committee of Adjustment;
  • Official Plan amendments related to the rural areas;
  • street openings and closings;
  • street name changes;
  • rural signage and municipal addressing where the street is wholly located in the rural area;
  • administration and enforcement of the Ontario Building Code;
  • 30 cm reserves;
  • lifting of Holding Provisions;
  • signs by-law, amendments and variances;
  • cash-in-lieu of parking agreements; and
  • grant program for offsetting building permit fees for the construction of buildings/structures requires as a result of the Nutrient Management Act and other environmental protection legislation.

The Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee shall also be responsible for recommending to Council, any proposed action applicable to the rural areas, which is at variance with action taken by staff pursuant to delegated authority.

Heritage

The Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee shall make recommendations to Council:

  • on heritage protection in the rural areas through applications and proposals brought forward by the Local Architectural Conservation Advisory Committee for designation under the Ontario Heritage Act as well as other heritage applications; and
  • on general heritage matters including the development and implementation of heritage policies, by-laws, strategies and programs applicable to the rural areas.

Transportation

The Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee shall make recommendations to Council:

  • when applicable, on the following transportation matters as they relate to the rural areas:
  • parking;
  • one-way designations;
  • road accesses;
  • intersection improvements;
  • temporary street closures;
  • sidewalks and pedestrian paths;
  • streetscape;
  • speed zoning;
  • transit services;
  • traffic calming; and
  • community safety zones.
  • when applicable, on matters related to transportation projects, engineering initiatives, municipal design/construction standards, asset management strategies, etc. of a rural nature emanating from the Infrastructure Services Branch.

Legal Services

The Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee shall have the authority to hear briefings on litigious matters of a planning and development nature where applicable to the rural areas, and to give direction to the City Solicitor on such matters.

Receive Delegations

The Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee shall have the authority to receive and hear delegations on matters affecting general land use planning in the rural areas of the City of Ottawa and to hold public hearings, as required by the Planning Act and the Municipal Act.

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