Boards, Committees and Appointments

The Township of Southgate is continuing to recruit committee members for the following: 

Waste Management Public Liaison Committee - Maximum of Seven (7) Citizen Members

Electronic Committee Member Application Form

PDF Committee Member Application Form

The Committee of Adjustment is established under the authority of The Planning Act and its regulations, The Statutory Powers Procedure Act, The Municipal Conflict of Interest Act, Building Code Act, The Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act and the common law concept of natural justice. The Committee of Adjustment considers and may authorize minor variances from the zoning by-law, review and permit extensions and enlargements to legal nonconforming uses and can grant consent for severances (land division), when the severance application involves a variance and/or when the consent is in dispute and cannot be resolved without a hearing.

These decisions are made as follows:

• in the case of severances (consent to sever), variances and permissions, the Committee’s decisions must be consistent with the Provincial Policy Statement, conform to Provincial Plans and comply with the County and the Township Official Plans;
• in the case of minor variances and permissions under Section 45(1) and (2) the Committee must consider the applications in light of the requirements as laid out in the Planning Act;
• in the case of severances, the Committee must have regard to the matters under section 51(24) of the Planning Act;
• the Committee must also be aware of Council decisions when making its decisions and must consider and apply the Township Official Plan policies; and
• comply with the Statutory Powers Procedure Act.

All decisions are subject to notice of the decision and all decisions made under the Planning Act are subject to appeal to the Local Planning Authority Tribunal (LPAT).

The Committee meets on a monthly basis or as needed. Applications for severance, lot adjustments or other matters are heard by the Committee at a “public hearing”. If you are considering making an application for Consent or Minor Variance, please contact the Planning Department to schedule a Pre-Consultation Meeting. Doing so will save you time and money and help the process go smoothly. The usual schedule for this Committee is the 4th Wednesday of the month in the Council Chambers (Hopeville Administration Office) at 9 am. Other meetings may be called at an as-needed basis. In the event of no applications in any given month, no meeting will be called. 

Information on active land-use planning applications and files can be located here

Please visit the County of Grey website for further information about the Joint Accessibility Advisory Committee.

Please visit our Ruth Hargrave Memorial Library Board page for further information about the Board. 

The Property Standards Committee is a quasi-judicial body that hears appeals to orders issued by Property Standards Officers for violations of certain Ontario Building Code and municipal by-law standards for residential, multiple residential and commercial properties.

The Committee also sits as the "Appeal Committee" to hear Muzzle Order appeals issued pursuant to the Township of Southgate Canine Control By-law currently in effect which is a by-law to license and regulate the keeping of dogs and dog kennels and for the control of dogs within the Township of Southgate.

The Committee is a local board of the Township. It conducts itself in accordance with the Statutory Powers Procedure Act, and is also governed by the Property Standards By-law.

Composition
The Property Standards Committee consists of 3 citizen members.  The term of office is four years coincident with the term of Council.

Meetings

The Property Standards Committee hearings are open to members of the public. If a member of the public would like to speak at a panel hearing, they can contact the Municipal Clerk for information. Hearings are held at the Municipal Office and called as required.

Please view the Property Standards Appeal Committee Terms of Reference for further information. 

Please view the Public Liaison Committee Terms of Reference for further information.  

The Recreation Advisory Committee was established by Council to provide guidance to Council and to make recommendations on recreation initiatives and programs in the Township of Southgate. Please view the Recreation Advisory Committee Terms of Reference for further information. 

The Township of Southgate Youth Action Committee (YAC) works towards creating a positive environment for youth in our community to be empowered, use their voices, and create meaningful change!

Please view the Youth Action Committee Terms of Reference for further information.

The Township of Southgate has appointed Fence Viewers whose role is to enforce the Line Fences Act

The Lined Fences Act provides a procedure for resolution of line fence disputes between the owners of adjoining properties. Line fences are fences that mark the boundary between properties; they are often referred to as boundary or division fences. The Act applies to both residential and non-residential fences.

Please visit our Fence Viewers page for further information about the Fence Viewers Committee.

The Ontario Wildlife Damage Compensation Program (OWDCP) provides financial assistance to owners whose livestock, poultry and/or honey bees have been damaged or killed by wildlife.  Livestock owners must notify their municipality within 48 hours of discovering the injury or death of livestock or poultry, or discovering damage to beehives.

For more information about the program please contact the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs or visit our Ontario Wildlife Damage Compensation Program page for more information on Livestock Evaluators.