Adjala-Tos bracing for appeals

By Brad Pritchard Alliston Herald

ADJALA-TOSORONTIO – Adjala-Tosorontio is gearing up for battle at the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) as its controversial growth plan for Everett continues to make its way through the approval process.

Township director of planning Jacquie Tschekalin anticipates OMB appeals will be made given the criticism the Everett Secondary Plan proposal faced leading up to its council approval in September.

“We’ve tried to work with the various groups that have expressed interest but we’ve been having difficulties coming into the office,” she said. “They have been sort of working on their own. We’re always open to try and work with people and address their concerns.”

Currently Everett’s population is about 1,600 people. The plan seeks to grow the community to 6,620 people over the next two decades. It is currently before the county for approval and may be voted on as early as the spring.

Tschekalin said the county accepted the plan as a complete application. Just before Christmas letters of notice were sent to agencies for comment, including various government ministries, the Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority, and the school boards.

Tschekalin said the comments should be received by the end of February, which would allow the plan to be voted on for approval by county council in March. However, she said it could take longer if the province needs more time to review it.

Tschekalin said the bulk of resistance to the plan continues to be seen within the hamlet with the Everett Ratepayers Association (ERA). The residents’ group (formerly known as People United for a Rural Everett) was founded last year and currently has about 30 members.

ERA president Chantale Gagnon said the group hasn’t been sitting on its hands since the plan was sent to the county for review.

The group is planning on making a deputation to county council to share their financial and environmental concerns over the proposal.

“We’re certain the taxes will increase with this plan,” she said.

Gagnon said they are also considering their legal options and raising money for an OMB appeal in the event the county approves the plan.

New Tecumseth also remains concerned about the growth impacts.

While various changes were made to the plan over the summer, including scaling back the growth target from the initial 10,000 population, New Tecumseth Mayor Mike MacEachern said the town is still not satisfied.

“From staff’s perspective, the concerns that were raised in September remain with regard to the population and with regard how it fits into the county official plan and the provincial growth plan,” he said.

He said council will make the appropriate decision about bringing the matter to the OMB when the time comes.

Work continues to move ahead on other aspects of the plan, including the environmental assessment of the new wastewater treatment plant along the Pine River.

Tschekalin said the $287,000 developer-funded study is at the design phase.

Regardless of the growth plan, she said creating a modern sewage plant is needed to address the community’s aging septic tank problem.

Replacing the problematic New Horizons sewage facility on Dekker Street with the new plant is also being considered.

“The problem is we can’t get any more homes on it, so there’s 100 homes paying for a system that was supposed to have 300 homes,” she said.

She said they are looking at either decommissioning it once more growth occurs, or leaving it as a backup system.

Tschekalin said most of the land up for development is owned by Walton International, which initially approached the township with the growth plan idea.

However, she said builders Barzo and R&M Homes own land that will be developed before the 2031 build out.

R&M Homes is already approved for 500 homes in the village’s north end, but hasn’t started building yet due to the wastewater issues.

She said Walton has an application to build about 235 homes in the south end, but the proposal is on hold until a decision is made on the growth plan.