Report to: Development
Services Committee Date:
June 1, 2010
SUBJECT: Markham Agricultural
Advisory Committee Revised Terms of Reference
PREPARED BY: Lilli Duoba, Senior Project Coordinator
Environmental Planning & Rouge
Park
RECOMMENDATION:
1)
That the staff report entitled “Markham Agricultural
Advisory Committee Revised Terms of Reference be received; and,
2)
That Council approve the revised Terms of Reference for
the Markham Agricultural Advisory Committee (Appendix A) and revised membership
eligibility criteria (Appendix B); and,
3) That Staff
be authorized and directed to do all things necessary to give effect to this resolution.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
Not Applicable
The purpose
of this report is to present for approval the revised Terms of Reference for
the Markham Agricultural Advisory Committee (MAAC) which reflects the changes
directed by Development Services Committee on March 23, 2010, and some minor
wording changes suggested by the agricultural stakeholders to whom the Terms of
Reference were circulated for comments.
On March 23,
2010 Development Services Committee received a staff report recommending the
creation of a local Agricultural Advisory Committee as directed by Council. Committee discussed the matter, directed modifications
to the Terms of Reference and further directed staff to circulate the Terms of
Reference to key representatives of the agricultural, academic and advocacy
communities for comment and input. The Terms of Reference were circulated to
all stakeholders who participated in the Town’s Agricultural Assessment Study,
as well as a faculty member of York University who has provided the Town with
input on the Growth Management Strategy.
The Town
received three responses from stakeholders and these comments have been
evaluated for their relevance and feasibility, and where appropriate, their
suggestions have been incorporated into the revised Terms of Reference and
revised Eligibility Criteria in Appendices A and B respectively. The bold and italic font in Appendix ‘A’
reflects the modifications directed by Development Services Committee and the
input received.
Written
comments were received from Assistant Professor at York University Dr. Jose
Etcheverry, the York Region Federation of Agriculture, and Wingsong
Wildlife Presentation Alliance a non government environment organization. The comments are attached as Appendix ‘C”.
Dr.
Etcheverry agreed with all six of the Council’s proposed amendments and
suggested changing the term ‘special interest group’ to ‘public interest group’
instead of advocacy group as suggested by Council. The Terms of Reference reflect the reference
‘advocacy group’ as directed by Development Services Committee.
The York Region
Federation of Agriculture (YFA) provided a number of comments on the Terms of
Reference. YFA expressed concern that 4
meetings per year would not be sufficient to for the Committee to be
effective. Staff concur and the Terms of
Reference have been modified to include ‘up to six meetings a year’ to provide
the Committee with the flexibility to add additional meetings as necessary to
deal with their agenda. YFA did not
support increasing Council membership or adding additional academic or advocacy
group membership to the Committee. YFA
also requested additional wording be added under communications and outreach to
add “public awareness and education about modern agriculture and the issues
concerning the industry”. Staff, support
this wording and have revised the Terms of Reference accordingly.
Comments were
also received from the Wingsong Wildlife Presentation
Alliance which is an organization with a mandate to protect wildlife and
wilderness through advocacy, collaboration, education and rescue. The comments
made by Wingsong suggest changes to the Committee
mandate to focus activities and priorities on natural heritage and wildlife
issues. There is the opportunity for
this Advisory Committee to also address environmental issues as they relate to local
agriculture, however, staff continue to support the predominant membership of
the Committee being persons with experience, knowledge and expertise in
agricultural and farming matters in Markham.
None
identified at this time
The Clerks
Department has been consulted and is available to provide secretariat support
to the MAAC. Staff support will also be
provided by the Sustainability Office and the Development Services Commission.
The
establishment of the MAAC is consistent with the recommendations in the Markham
Agricultural Assessment Study and the strategic directions outlined in the
Town’s Growth Management Strategy.
RECOMMENDED BY:
______________________________ _______________________________
T. J. Lambe
M.C.I.P. R.P.P
Jim Baird M.C.I.P; R.P.P Manager
Policy & Research Division Commissioner Development
Services
Appendix ‘A’: Markham Agricultural Advisory
Committee – Revised Terms of Reference
Appendix ‘B’:
Markham Agricultural Advisory
Committee – Revised Membership Eligibility Criteria
Appendix ‘C’ Comments Received
Filepath: Q:\Development\Planning\MISC\MI 520 Agricultural Assessment
2008\Reports\DSC June 2010 Revised ToR.doc