ACTUALITÉ / NEWS
Church group pleads for building project exemption
(CDSBEO) until it can build its own church, but the site it has in mind for the project is designated prime farmland and requires a special exemption to allow any other kind of development. “We are seeking an exemption on the 2011 zoning bylaw,” said Vedder, “as we began (planning) in good faith based on the previous
zoning bylaw.” The lot on Concession 3 near Russell village belongs to Albert and Shirley Vedder and has been the proposed site for a new Reformed Presbyterian church building for the past couple of years. But without an exemption to Ontario’s farmland protection policy that is not possible and Hank Vedder
said there is nowhere else the congregation can go. Any other sites available would exhaust the church building fund save up and delay actual construction for several more years. “The provincial policy does allow residential development on prime agricultural land where no reasonable alternative exists,” he said. “Land inside the village is too expensive for us.” Council has a 30-page planning department report on the matter to review and consider for its next regular session. The report summarizes the situation, including provincial policy objections. Mayor Jean- Paul St. Pierre noted that council has to make a decision on the matter. “This (issue) has been outstanding for some time,” he said. “We should come to a resolution.” Council members wrestled with the matter again during their Jan. 16 regular session. An attempt to come up with an amendment that would aid the church group ended up defeated. But the motion to accept a resolution for accepting the recommendations of both the township planning department and the advisory planning committee regarding the site was also defeated. The township will now turn the whole issue over to the United Counties of Prescott- Russell council (UCPR) to decide since the UCPR official plan has the final word on land use in Prescott-Russell.
G REGG C HAMBERLAIN gregg.chamberlain@eap.on.ca
RUSSELL | The provincial policy won’t allow it but members of the Russell Reformed Presbyterian Church are still hoping to convince the municipality and the counties to let them go ahead with plans for a building project on a small piece of prime farmland near the village. Hank Vedder, spokesman for the 160- member church group, presented the case during the January 9 committee of the whole session for Russell Township council. The congregation has been using the Mother Teresa Catholic School for a worship site under an arrangement with the Catholic District School Board of Eastern Ontario Le maire adjoint de Glengarry Nord Chris McDonell a été élu à la tête de la municipalité lundi de la semaine dernière. Il a défait par une petite majorité le conseiller du secteur d’Alexandria, Jamie MacDonald. Le poste de maire était vacant depuis le départ de Grant Crack à Queen’s Park en octobre dernier. Un successeur pour Grant Crack
photo Gregg Chamberlain Hank Vedder presents council with arguments to support land-use exemption request from Russell Reformed Presbyterian Church.
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