REPORT ON COUNCIL
Mar. 23, 2015
Committee of the Whole Meeting: 9:00 a.m. –12:05, 12:50-3:35 p.m.
Regular Meeting of Council: 1:00 p.m. – 6:25 p.m.
Mayor George Cornell, Deputy Mayor Steffen Walma, and Councillors Cindy Hastings, Richard Hinton and Gibb Wishart present.
NATURAL HERITAGE EVALUATION REPORT:
Keith Sherman of the Severn Sound Environmental Association presented an evaluation of the Townships natural heritage by means of a series of maps of woodlands, riparian habitat, wetlands, and and other natural heritage features. His report is to be used as a basis for updating natural heritage policies of Tiny’s Official Plan. Unfortunately, only the maps were included in the Committee of the Whole Agenda, making it impossible to comment on the report proper.
OFFICIAL PLAN UPDATE:
Kris Menzies, MHBC Planning, reported that updates were made to the Planning Act in 2007, 2009, 2010, 2o11, and 2014 which require changes to Tiny’s Official Plan. Other documents that the township must conform to are the Clean Water Act, the Strong Communities Act, the Provincial Policy Statement of 2014, the Places to Grow Growth Plan of 2013, and the County of Simcoe Official Plan, drafted in January 2013. All these documents insist that growth be focused within settlement areas and away from significant or sensitive resources and hazard lands, and that natural resources – water, agricultural land, minerals, and culture – be managed wisely. Growth is not to take place in shoreline or country residential areas. Severances for retirement farmers are no longer permitted. Protection is anticipated for new aspects of the environment, particularly significant coastal wetlands and species at risk. As the County’s Official Plan is approved only in part, our Official Plan cannot be fully updated until the end of this year or some time next. It is possible, however, to make the necessary changes where the County’s plan has been approved, namely to
– growth management strategy and policies
– D4 assessment areas/waste management
– source water protection policies
– affordable housing, and
– natural heritage policies (once the County’s Greenland policy has been approved by the Ontario Municipal Board.
Council unanimously agreed to direct staff to work with MHBC Planning on those areas of the township’s OP.
BUDGET APPROVED: There is to be a 2% increase in the municipal portion of residential taxes (roughly a third), as opposed to the County’s third and the third that goes to education. There will be careful considerations of the budget in the Spring/Summer Tiny Cottager.
TOWN HALL MEETING FORMAT: Council supported the proposed formal for town hall meetings. There are to be three meetings each year, spring, summer, and fall. (We have learned that the first one is to occur from 7 to 9 p.m. on Wednesday May 27 and the second on the recommendation of Councillor Richard Hinton on a Saturday in July to accommodate seasonal residents.) The location of the meeting is to rotate among the Council Chambers, the Township’s Community Centre, the Wyebridge Community Centre, and the Lafontaine Community Centre.
LAPSE OF DRAFT PLAN APPROVALS:
Those keeping an eye on proper planning for Tiny have been concerned about subdivisions that were approved many years ago, but never built. In the interval regulations have been tightened up and rethought, yet the long delay opened the possibility of inappropriate development taking place under old rules. The last Council made the necessary moves to ensure that new applications, under the township’s current official plan, had to be undertaken if these proposed developments were to go forward. It is with some relief that we note under Correspondence that the draft plans approved for the South Part of Lot 22, Concession 5 (Sokol/Downer, approved in 1990), Part of Lot 18, Concession 16 (Ontario Potato Distributing, approved 1997), and Part of lot 21, Concession 5 (Montebello Developments Limited, approved 1993) all lapsed at the end of January 2015.
