The city of Hamilton is poised to crack down on illegal businesses in rural areas.

Under the city's proposed rural official plan, staff are proposing to allow only agricultural-related businesses within designated rural areas.

Other businesses, such as welding, auto repair shops, and other industrial home-based businesses that have proliferated throughout Hamilton's rural community will be relegated to urban or rural settlement areas.

"If we see illegal uses, we have to report it to (the city's) bylaw," said Al Fletcher, a city planner who is crafting the city's rural official plan.

"If it's agricultural related, it's okay; if it's not, it's not okay. We can't use the 'pull up your socks' clause."

Questionable operations

Mr. Fletcher said, during a recent meeting of the agricultural and rural affairs sub-committee, as planning staff was conducting research for the planning document, they found about 400 properties that had questionable business operations.

A lot of them were small home-based industries, such as welding, landscaping, auto-related, and even pharmaceuticals.

These types of business have flourished in the rural countryside because the city has yet to crack down on them.

Mr. Fletcher said the city's bylaw policy is to respond to a complaint, and rural neighbours are reluctant to report any activities to the city.

Under the tougher rural official plan, the city will issue an order to the operator of the illegal business so it can be relocated to the proper legally-zoned area, he said.

John Mantel, a member of the committee, argued farmers and rural people are simply trying to earn extra income.

"If we all complained, I'd like to see you deal with it," he said.

Mr. Fletcher said if the city ignores these illegal businesses, it means the operators are not paying business taxes, creating an unfair competition with other people who are paying to operate a legitimate business.

In addition, illegal businesses, since they are not regulated, could be unsafe for the community. Mr. Fletcher said he has spotted some properties that had drums containing unknown materials. If the businesses are illegal, the operators could be transporting or using hazardous materials.

"We are talking a health issue," he said. "We can't recognize illegal uses except agriculture uses."

A few years ago former Flamborough councillor Dave Braden presented to councillors a hand-crafted canoe that one of his constituents had made.

Mr. Braden said at the time the rural official plan would ruin his friend's home-based business.

Mr. Fletcher argued under the revised rural official plan, a business such as canoe making is classified as a craft, and would be exempt from the bylaw.

Other introductions the rural official plan will provide include establishing nine zones including rural manufacturing, settlement commercial, and open space, permitting agri-tourism industries in the rural areas, limiting non-farm properties from constructing large accessory buildings, and a site plan application will be required for any development or site change done within 120 meters of a natural feature.

The rural official plan will continue to undergo further adjustments before the public has a chance to comment upon it sometime in the fall.

Mr. Fletcher has been presenting the preliminary planning proposals to rural organizations, such as the sub-committee, for their comments.