Wilmot farmers want to be heard
Region offering $35K per acre, but no one will tell property owners why they have to sell
As the Region of Waterloo moves to buy their farms and homes in Wilmot Township, the property owners involved can’t get on the agenda for the next township council meeting to speak about it.
“They refused to put us on,” said Stewart Snyder, a dairy farmer on Nafziger Road.
“We put pressure on councillors,” he added. “You have to be on the agenda to speak, and to get on the agenda we either need a staff person to put us on, or we have a councillor put us on the agenda, but nobody will.”
Snyder and other property owners along Bleams, Nafziger, Wilmot Town Centre and the highway received offers from a private-sector consultant, Canacre, to buy farms for about $35,000 an acre. The region retained Canacre, a consulting company that specializes in large land assemblies for infrastructure projects, and deals with the regulatory changes.
“We are looking at 750 acres, and we are looking at five farm properties, or partial farm properties, and probably eight or nine residences,” said Snyder.
The Region of Waterloo is listed as the purchaser on the offer Snyder received. The Canacre rep was clear, said Snyder — those who refuse to sell will be expropriated, the legal term for the powers municipal governments have to force the property owners to sell land.
Snyder and his neighbours are going public because they can’t get answers from the Township of Wilmot or the Region of Waterloo. They are baffled that millions of taxpayer dollars will be spent on creating a big, single parcel of land but nobody will tell the property owners what is going on.
“The township is not on our side, the township doesn’t want to talk to us and regional council doesn’t want to talk to us,” said Snyder.
The two councillors for the township’s Ward 4 say they sympathize with the property owners.
“All I can say is, I can refer you to the region,” said Coun. Steven Martin. “That’s all I can say at this point. I am sorry about that, at this point there is not much I can say. I apologize.”
The local councillors have received specific instructions — do not talk about the land assembly.
“I have had very clear direction
that any inquiries, any comments need to come from someone other than me,” said Coun. Lillianne Dunstall.
“You probably know as much as I do, I am not quite sure the title of ‘councillor’ is as high up the food chain as some seem to think.”
She has heard from some residents.
“The constituents point of view, I get it, but there is nothing I can say and I am sorry about that, if there was, I would,” said Dunstall.
The Region of Waterloo and the Township of Wilmot say in a joint statement they are assembling a big parcel of shovel-ready land for a large investment They also confirmed they are working with higher levels of government on the land assembly.
“All I had was an offer on real estate forms listing the region as the purchaser,” said Snyder.
The region’s offer of about $35,000-an-acre is not enough, he said, and the price should be based on the land’s future use, plus relocation expenses.
“Why does the region want to treat the farmers like dirt?” said Snyder.
The large block of land the region wants to assemble is mostly rolling farmland with two creeks flowing through it that empty that empty into the Nith River. It is some of the most productive farmland in Ontario, said Snyder, and two well-head protection areas that provide drinking water for the region are found on its eastern and northern borders.
The region continues to rely on underground aquifers for 80 per cent of the region’s water.
The Region of Waterloo’s latest Official Plan was only approved by the province last year, and there was no mention in it of putting together a huge parcel of “shovelready” land for a large investment in Wilmot Township, said Snyder. If the land-use has to change to accommodate a large economic investment public meetings are usually held, he added.
If the region plans to rely on the province for an MZO, a ministerial zoning order that overrides local planning, then some public notice is still required, said Snyder.
An MZO was used to help Amazon build a warehouse in Blair.
TERRY PENDER IS A WATERLOO REGION RECORD REPORTER. REACH HIM VIA: TPENDER@THERECORD.COM