Assessing land‐use regulations in coastal wetlands: The case of the long point area, lake Erie, Ontario

Abstract

The first comprehensive attempt at development control along the Canadian Great Lakes shoreline was the 1976 lakeshore regulation policy adopted by the Regional Municipality of Haldimand-Norfolk on the north Lake Erie shore. This innovative strategy was initiated at the municipal level as a component of the regional land-use planning process. Determination of efficiency and effectiveness of the policy implementation process is based on analysis of permit approval files. All development applications submitted between 1976 and 1980 in the Turkey Point and Long Point Peninsulas are evaluated. Those areas, the most popular cottaging areas in the region, are most susceptible to flood and erosion hazards. Of the total applications submitted during the four-year study period, 37 percent were in these areas. The policy was ineffective and inefficient in controlling development in the two peninsulas. Applications were approved in the majority of cases, despite regulatory prohibition of developments in hazard-susceptible areas. There were lengthy decision-making delays, often exceeding one year, and frequent violations of regulatory procedures. Recommendations are suggested to improve policy implementation.

Assessing Floodplain Regulation in Glen Williams, Ontario, Canada

“…In both locations, the level of filling is minor and the total number of applications was low. The overall approval rate is about 81%, the same rate as found in earlier assessments of Section 28 (Mitchell and Shrubsole, 1992;Shrubsole et al, 1995), and consistent with similar regulatory programs (Sabatier and Mazmanian, 1983;Claiborne Jones and Lynch, 1978;Owen and Jacobs, 1992;Jesson et al, 1983). Table 2 provides information concerning the conditions, if any, attached to the approval of an application.…”