County of Simcoe plan involves public input

By Simcoe County Warden Gerry Marshall Barrie Examiner 

Spring is here and I look forward to another successful green season of events, festivals, tourism and outdoor activities across our county. As warmer weather arrives, projects heat up at the County of Simcoe.

Our planning department is responsible for ensuring that we have responsible land use and development policies in place which support the current and future needs of our municipalities, residents and businesses. As an upper-tier municipality, our policies are guided by and must conform to provincial legislation.

This is the case with our Official Plan (OP), which provides overall direction on land use planning and development matters. Once approved, local municipalities will use the OP to bring their own local plans into conformity on matters such as growth, environmental protection, sustainable transportation and infrastructure, and resource conservation.

Our process dates back to 2008, when our council first adopted our updated official plan. Due to changes in Provincial legislation, our OP was further updated and again endorsed by council in 2013.

During this period, our OP has been under appeal with the Ontario Municipal Board. The hearing commenced in March 2013 and is ongoing.

Council recently approved a motion to hold a public information session to provide residents and stakeholders with information on the status of our OP and the appeal process at the Ontario Municipal Board.

Staff have been busy preparing two public information sessions, which will be held on April 20  at the Simcoe County Museum. The first session will run from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and the second session from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Please join us for information about the status of our OP or visit www.simcoe.ca/op for details. It is important to note that these are information sessions only. We have no jurisdiction to reconsider matters that are determined by or are before the OMB.

Staff are also working on two important Solid Waste Management infrastructure projects – development of an Organics Processing Facility (OPF) and a Materials Management Facility (MMF).

There are many potential benefits to operating these two facilities within our borders, including the secure management of our own materials, reduced contracting costs, operational flexibility, less haulage of materials to outside processors and the potential to add additional materials to our green bin program, which will further this environmentally responsible diversion initiative.

Council recently provided staff with direction to proceed with short-listing both county-owned and private sites. The short list of potential sites will be presented to council in the summer and there will be further public consultation in the fall. This is a multi-phased project and our council will be reviewing staff reports and providing direction to staff throughout the process. My goal is to ensure that the public is informed and engaged. For more information, visit www.simcoe.ca/opf andwww.simcoe.ca/mmf.

As the weather improves, you will see our transportation and engineering team working on road and bridge projects throughout our county. Please use caution when driving through construction zones, and remember that these projects will ultimately improve our roads and transportation across Simcoe County. Visit www.simcoe.ca/dpt/trs for updates on our projects.