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Essa asks NVCA to adhere to controls on development on flood prone areas

March 19, 2014   ·   0 Comments

After conducting a review of the costs faced by municipalities such as Calgary, Bracebridge and Toronto due to flooding over the past year, Essa township is asking the Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority to ensure that any development in the floodplain or flood fringe areas around the Nottawasaga River does not create any future problems Council passed a resolution last week that said that “(we want) to express in the strongest terms its concerns with respect to the approval of recent development in the floodplain area of the Nottawasaga River within the watershed and in particular, future development in the Township of Essa.”

The authority recently gave approval to a major commercial development along Mill Street in Angus.

The letter from Essa notes “for the safety of our residents, the protection of our residents’  property and to protect the financial wellbeing of the township, we ask that such development only take place when full and detailed studies are completed by any potential developer verifying that it can be constructed in a safe, suitable and orderly fashion.”

Council asked the NVCA to place the letter on it agenda and will send copies to all 17 member municipalities of the authority.

Mayor Terry Dowdall said after the meeting that  he knew that the letter might be controversial but that it would likely not be the present municipal councils or members of the authority who would be dealing with consequences of future flooding.

“Its going to be a problem for future councils and residents,” he said.

By Richard Blanchard

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