Heather Wright/The Independent

Wanstead residents are asking the Town of Plympton-Wyoming to stop the construction of all agricultural truck washing stations dealing with bio security until it can take a comprehensive look at where they should be built.

Jennifer Bailey and Jesse Jessome, two of the residents who have been opposing Cornerstone Development’s plan to build an agricultural transport trailer washing facility among a cluster of homes in the hamlet, made the request.

Two properties on either side of Leyton Street are slated to hold a washing station and a drying facility for trailers which haul animals. The site would also include a closed-loop wash water treatment system which received approval through the Environmental Compliance Approvals branch of the Ministry of the Environment in Sept. 2021.

Neighbour worry the company, which received funding from the federal government to help with bio security issues in the region, will use the truck-washing facility when combating problems such as Avian Flu. They’re concerned water wells will be affected.

After years of dealing with the issue, Belanger filed an appeal to the Ontario Land Tribunal charging town council had failed to make a decision in 120 days allotted for the process under the Ontario Planning Act.

OLT officials have set aside Feb. 19 to hear the case and could either approve or deny Belanger’s bid to place the commercial washing station in the residential area.

Jan. 26, Bailey and Jessome asked council to view the issue through the planning lens.

Bailey told council there area all kinds of standards for bio security wash bays including “disinfection, providing physical and operational separation between clean and dirty zones, prevent cross contamination between vehicles sites and biological materials.” 

She says the Canadian Federation Inspection Agency’s standards for the layout of the buildings “implicitly classifies wash facilities as bio security infrastructure, not incidental agricultural use.”

Bailey added the province uses minimum distance separation standards “where agricultural activities have impacts beyond the property boundaries.” She adds that while MDS doesn’t apply to trailer wash operations, it shows the province sees the need for regulations when there are off-site impacts.

The Wanstead project was proposed for the land since the town’s zoning in the area allows other businesses which support farm businesses. “Across jurisdictions, wash facilities are consistently treated as stand alone operational uses, not as incidental structures,” says Bailey. “The absence of explicit zoning definitions does not reflect an absence of standards. It reflects a local policy gap in land use regulation.”

Jessome emphasized the need for explicit zoning saying wash bays, which involve heavy vehicle traffic and significant water use, should be regulated to avoid conflicts with neighbours.

Jessome says the Provincial Policy Statement says major projects, like a commercial agricultural wash bay used in bio security services, should avoid or minimize any impacts to neighbours.

Lambton County’s official plan, she says “prioritizes minimizing disruption to established communities, protecting community character,” while the town’s own zoning plan also “requires the discouragement of incompatible land uses, increased setback or buffering when necessary.”

The pair asked council to direct staff to prepare an interim control bylaw on any bio security commercial trailer washing facilities and then to create zoning specifically for the operations in the future.

Mayor Gary Atkinson says municipal council will look at the request but not immediately.

He says it wouldn’t be appropriate while the zoning of the property is being dealt with at the Ontario Land Tribunal. A hearing is slated for Feb. 19.

Right now, lawyers for both the town and Cornerstone are trying to resolve the issue before a hearing. During an in-camera meeting Jan. 26, council gave CAO Adam Sobanski to give direction to the town’s lawyers on the case. Any final decision on a settlement, if one can be reached, will be made by council.