Members of Huron County's Water Protection Steering Committee got an explanation of the county's new Natural Heritage Plan at this week's meeting.
Planner Rachel White explained a Natural Heritage area could include woodlands, wetlands, meadows or thickets and their size and proximity to water.
Planner Susanna Reid points out a Natural Heritage designation regulates the development that's proposed on that property, so if someone wants to build on a Natural Heritage feature it would likely require a zoning amendment as is currently the case.
Reid adds it's difficult to generalize but the nature of the Environmental Impact Study for each proposal would be determined by the ecological feature on the property and the development that was being proposed.
White adds the Natural Heritage Plan is being driven by changes to the Provincial Policy Statement that direct municipalities to protect natural heritage features.
