A Milton cattle farm that’s been in the McCann family for almost 200 years is coveted by the Halton Catholic board, which is attempting to expropriate part of it despite acres of currently undeveloped land nearby.

David McCann’s family has been farming the land since 1827. Three generations of the McCann family are currently working on the farm, which primarily raises beef. For years, they say they have been rejecting overtures from developers to buy the farm. And they plan to fight the board, too.

“I’m planning on fighting it and I’m hoping to win,” McCann said. “But it’s a tough battle to fight here.”

The school board says the new Catholic secondary school — the third in Milton — will have about 1,500 students by its fifth year of operation. That requires an approximately 17-acre property, said Frederick Thibeault, senior administrator of planning services for the board, in an email.

The two secondary schools in Milton — Bishop P.F. Reding and the recently-opened Jean Vanier — are expected to reach capacity by the 2020-21 academic year, Thibeault said.

The McCanns said they have not received an offer for their land.

“My health’s not the greatest, so I’d like to stay here and finish off my years right here,” McCann said. “But it’s also that my family has been here for 200 years and this is my home. It’s what I know.”

An online petition against the expropriation has garnered over 30,000 signatures.

Education Minister Indira Naidoo-Harris, who is also the area’s MPP, said Halton is a fast-growing area and acknowledged that “it’s creating all kinds of challenges on the ground.”

While there is “no real role for the ministry to play” given it is a board decision, the board must ensure it has heard from the community before making its decision, she said.

“I have met with the family and I know this is a very challenging situation for them, and a very difficult one,” Naidoo-Harris said Monday at the legislature. “When a board is having to make these kinds of expansions, I hope they consider all of the voices in their communities and, certainly in this instance, this particular family has been clear about the impact they feel this will have on their family life and on their future.

“This is something that needs to be looked at closely.”

Given there is unused land nearby, she also said, “this is why I really feel that the school board needs to look at all of their options.”

Thibeault said there is a Boyne East Secondary Plan, which was developed with the Town of Milton and Halton Region, “in regard to acquiring land.”

Thibeault said that when it comes to determining where a new school will be located, the board considers its proximity to “other community facilities, arterial roads and a centralized location” as well as enrolment and location requirements.

The McCann family farm is about 200 acres in total (about 80 hectares). David McCann owns a 70-acre parcel, from which the board is trying to expropriate. His parents own the other 130 acres.

Chuck Charlton, a realtor with Charlton Advantage who isn’t involved in the dispute, said that while its worth can be difficult to pin down, he’d consider anywhere from $1.2 to $1.5 million per acre to be average for farm land in the area.

McCann said the board is attempting to expropriate around 20 acres. Thibeault said he could not comment “on specific land matters as these are confidential in nature.”

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McCann said he is concerned about having a school built next to a working cattle farm.

Thibeault said a “service block” — which will provide water and waste water services — will “address some of the concerns in regard to the proximity to the barns where cattle are being held.”

A road and fencing will also serve as a buffer between the farm and school.

The board recently found itself in hot water over a former policy that banned students and school councils from fundraising for any group that doesn’t abide by the church’s opposition to stem cell research, birth control or euthanasia.

Correction - May 8, 2018: This article was edited from a previous version to update a headline that mistakenly said three generations of the McCann family have been farming the land since 1827.