|
Posted by Michael Bulatovich on September 29, 2007, 1:24 pm
> Michael Bulatovich wrote:
>
>>
>> It's pretty unusual for a bureaucrat to use a tape....Now what? Committee
>> of Adjustment? or does a Conservation Authority have jurisdiction?
>
> Here in "lake country" they are very worried about what goes in the lakes,
> particularly pollution of different types. Septic systems are one
> potential source of lake pollution, so they're very careful about these
> systems.
>
> The "city" isn't one. It's officially chartered by the state...which
> gives them a mayor and a couple of police to write speeding tickets. They
> don't have a building department, but do have a P&Z administrator. The
> P&Z's administrator has the primary job of making sure that buildings are
> built according to the P&Z rules. They require site plans to be submitted
> prior to construction. This is to verify that the owner is planning to
> build within setbacks, the septic system is properly sited and sized, etc.
> Usually (in this jurisdiction), the only inspection is that the septic
> system has been correctly installed.
>
> Things get really complicated here... The Department of Natural Resources
> has jurisdiction over the "water" (beginning at the "ordinary high water
> mark"). A county or city will then have jurisdiction over the rest of the
> property. But, what happens if a lake is in two counties? Then what
> happens when each county has different shoreland zoning rules? You can
> imagine that land owners get upset when their neighbor down the road (in a
> different county) gets to do something different (like have a boat house
> on the shore) and they don't (even though it's on the same lake).
I built a house in a 'protected watershed' area (
http://www.mah.gov.on.ca/Asset1865.aspx ), so I'm familiar with many of the
problems you describe...and more. There the water, because it was deemed a
'cold water fishery' was FEDERAL jurisdiction. The watershed was governed by
*PROVINCIAL* legislation, and the municipalities were forced to bring their
zoning regs into conformance with the provincial legislation. We got in just
weeks before the more restrictive zoning would have taken effect. The trees,
slopes and wildlife habitat were governed by a regional (COUNTY)
conservation authority. They imposed all kinds of spatial and time limits on
what could be done, where, and when.
As a result, even though I had to stickhandle through *four* levels of
government, we 're way closer to the water than anyone else ever will be in
the future. I tried to tell that to a neighbor who later wanted me to do the
same for him, but he wouldn't believe me. I didn't get the job, but the
(tackier) house went were I told him it would have to go...(Messenger
removes arrow from back.)
--
MichaelB
www.michaelbulatovich.ca
| 
Yahoo! 
Google 
Windows Live 
del.icio.us 
digg 
Netscape 
XML Sitemap