Erin to reconsider OPA 131 decision at future meeting

ERIN – Mayor Michael Dehn has asked for more time to review Official Plan Amendment 131 (OPA 131) in a notice of motion brought to Erin council on March 26. 

The motion asks council to reconsider hiring a consultant to prepare a planning justification report on whether extending an existing rural severance cut-off date could help address a shortfall created by a county proposal to transfer 120 units of rural severances from Erin to Puslinch. 

“Upon further consideration, a more wholesome review is required to inform council’s recommendations regarding rural growth,” states Dehn’s motion. 

This comes after discussions during a March 12 council meeting, during which  council agreed to consider asking the county to change the current severance cut-off date from March 1, 2005, to May 1, 2025 – as is proposed in Puslinch to encourage more development there to hit a 2051 growth target. 

The Erin discussion followed input from several delegates who supported the revision and opposed OPA 131’s plan to transfer rural severances to Puslinch.

If approved as is, OPA 131 would grant Puslinch landowners who received a severance prior to May 1, 2025 to receive another severance, while Erin landowners would remain limited to the 2005 deadline.

OPA 131 anticipates that Erin will grow to 4,970 households, including 630 rural households, by 2051.

Officials say extending the severance cutoff date to 2025 in Erin could potentially yield up to 177 new building lots in the town’s secondary agricultural areas.

Dehn told council he would elaborate on the motion at a future council meeting.