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39| The IFP -H alton H ills | T hursday,S eptem ber 13,2018 theifp.ca Meetings at Halton Region, 1151 Bronte Rd., Oakville, L6M 3L1 Visit halton.ca for full schedule. Halton earns another top credit rating, ensuring value for tax dollars S&P Global Ratings has affirmed Halton's AAA credit rating for another year, providing the Region with continued access to the best capital financing rates available. This advantage helps your tax dollars go further when the Region invests in infrastructure, such as road, water and wastewater projects. S&P's decision was based on Halton's prudent planning, superior performance and transparent reporting, and it follows Moody's Investors Service upholding its highest credit rating for the Region in January 2018. To learn more about Halton's strong financial position, visit halton.ca. Compost Giveaway Halton residents are invited to attend the Fall Compost Giveaway as a thank you for helping divert approximately 27,000 tonnes of yard waste last year. Halton residents can take up to the equivalent of seven garbage bags of compost per household, free of charge. HWMS 5400 Regional Rd 25 REG IO N A L RD 25 TREM A IN E RD BRITANNIA RD Lower Base Line 401 QEW 407 Remember to bring: • Bags or containers (maximum seven garbage bags or equivalent per household) • A shovel to bag your own compost Non-perishable food items and/or cash donations will be accepted and distributed to Halton-area food banks - your donationsmake a difference! Keep our compost clean The final compost material will be a better product by keeping these items out of your yard waste: No plastic bags Place yard waste in paper yard waste bags or reusable, rigid containers (no lid) with a "YardWaste" label. No plastic plant pots Place clean plastic flower and plant pots in the Blue Box. No plastic toys Place used or broken pet and/or children's toys in the garbage. Helpful hint: When applying compost to your garden, blend it with topsoil or another gardening fill. For best results, apply 60 per cent topsoil and 40 per cent compost. Formore information, visit halton.ca/wasteor call 311. 09 13 18 Saturday, September 15 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. HaltonWaste Management Site 5400 Regional Road 25,Milton    Cell: 416-996-9338 jay@hilltoptreecare.ca www.hilltoptreecare.ca It's Lonely at the Top! tices or changes a farmer could make to their site. Geoff Maltby, an Acton farmer with the federation says that the policy would affect how his family uses the forest behind their farm. Every 30 years his family harvests the trees for fence posts and plants a new gen- eration. "This was normal farming practice on our farm," he said, about the property that's been in his family for the past 200 years. Under the primary designation of a nat- ural heritage feature, Maltby says those trees would be protected, and not recog- nized as the agricultural crop that his fam- ily treats them as. The primary designation doesn't meet the provincial policy either, and the region has been asked by the province to desig- nate land primarily agriculture, and have the natural heritage designation as an overlay, the exact opposite of the region's mapping. "We've got to find the sweet spot be- tween the regional system and the provin- cial system," said regional Coun. Clark Somerville, adding that the there needs to be common ground between the region, province and farmers. "I think there has to be a bit of faith on each side," said the councillor, explaining that staff should use discretion when it comes to a couple trees on a farm. "There has to be a bit of give and take on each side." Both Fisher and Maltby say that they worry that staff would adhere to the plan- ning by the book in the future, and that concessions may not be made for their spe- cific issues. In the spring, the province came back to the region, asking them to change their mapping to adhere to their provincial pol- icies and put agriculture as the primary designation. However, the region had is- sues with the proposed changes. "I think the province understands some of the concerns that have been raised," said Curt Benson, director of planning services and chief planning official. "The heart of the concern is with the mapping and accu- racy." Benson says that the natural heritage planning that the region is trying to pro- tect shouldn't come at a cost, and says that planners want to work with the farmers and the province to come up with a solu- tion. "We were more concerned that the prov- ince really didn't engage us when it came to the mapping," he said, noting that there wasn't any exchange of information when the province was redrawing the maps. The official plan is being revisited in hopes of having a new edition complete by 2020. Benson says that consultations with the public for the official plan will start in 2019. NEWS Continued from page 1 IT'S A POLICY THAT AIMS TO BE CUTTING EDGE IN ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION OF LAND THE ISSUE: ROPA 38 LOCAL IMPACT: LOCAL FARMERS SAY THE POLICY DOESN'T DO ENOUGH TO RECOGNIZE RIGHTS OF FARMERS WORKING THE LAND STORY BEHIND THE STORY: An Acton farmer says ROPA 38 would affect how his family uses the forest behind their farm. Under the primary designation of a natural heritage feature, the trees would not be recognized as agricultural crops.