The developer of a planned 1,240-unit subdivision here has filed an appeal of an amendment to Wellington County’s official plan adopting updated growth forecasts and setting policies for second residential units.
The province has extended the Places to Grow Act population forecasts to the years 2036 and 2041 and requires the county to allocate the growth to local municipalities. Another recent growth-related change is that the Planning Act requires official plans to provide a broader policy basis to authorize second units. A bylaw adopting official plan amendment number 99 (OPA 99) to bring the Wellington County Official Plan into conformity with these requirements was approved at county council’s May 26 meeting.
However, a delegation consisting of Keith MacKinnon of KLM Planning Partners and Maurizio Rogato of Solmar Development Corp appeared at the meeting to ask council to defer the amendment until the Town of Erin’s Environmental Assessment process has been completed. Council approved the amendment after hearing from the delegation.
Mark Paoli, the county’s manager of policy planning said the county received a letter appealing the decision on June 28. The letter comes from the Toronto law firm of Davies Howe Partners on behalf of the 4135199 Canada Inc. and 2084937 Ontario Limited, and Sebecca Enterprises Corp, which are part of Solmar Development Corp.
The letter contends OPA 99 does not conform with the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe (“Growth Plan”) and it is not consistent with the Provincial Policy Statement.
It also states:
– the allocation of population and employment growth in OPA 99 assumes growth will be directed to future settlement area boundary expansions “instead of optimizing and making efficient use of land in existing settlement areas in the county”;
– the amendment does not allocate sufficient population and employment growth to the town of Erin to allow for the appropriate development of lands within the existing Village of Erin Urban Area, including the development contemplated in the company’s applications; and
– combining the projected population growth for Hillsburgh and the Village of Erin” is inappropriate and does not represent good planning.”
The letter notes existing, in-force county and town official plans both include separate population forecasts for these communities. OPA 99 separates population projections for individual communities within the other lower-tier municipalities.
“Separate forecasts are required to provide clear direction for how and where growth should be accommodated in the town,” the appeal letter states.
Paoli said its unclear at this point how the appeal impacts the status of OPA 99
“It has some status because county council has adopted it, but it’s not in effect … its unable to become part of the official plan until the appeal is resolved,” he explained.
Paoli stressed the process is still in the early stages.
“It can take a while,” he said, noting the county was just in the process of preparing to send notice of the appeal and related documents to the OMB when contacted by the Advertiser on July 12.
