Grey Highlands deputy mayor joins Niagara Escarpment Commission

Grey Highlands Deputy Mayor Dane Nielsen is the newest member of the Niagara Escarpment Commission.

At council’s meeting on May 3, Mayor Paul McQueen announced that Nielsen had been appointed to the commission via a provincial order.

McQueen, a former member of the commission himself, congratulated Nielsen for taking on the role and encouraged him to consider continuing an effort he had made during his time as a commissioner to change a particular commission policy.

McQueen said development permits approved by the commission are valid for just three years and he had made efforts to have the permit time extended to five years.

The mayor said after the COVID-19 pandemic delayed a lot of activity there were property owners who had received a permit, who were forced to go through the entire process again after the three-year approval window had expired.

“Try to get that to five years,” McQueen suggested.

Nielsen said he attended his first meeting of the commission on April 27 and said he looked forward to conversing with the mayor about his experiences as a commissioner.

“I look forward to having good conversations with you,” said Nielsen. “I’m very excited.”

The 17-member commission - nine (including the chair) are public members and eight are municipally-elected members - meets monthly to consider development permits and land use proposals and policies under the Niagara Escarpment Plan. The provincial government created the Niagara Escarpment Plan in 1985. It establishes land-use designations, development criteria and related permitted use for lands within the designated escarpment areas. More information can be found here.