Down to the wire for Midhurst developers

Chiarelli population allocations of vital importance in plan for village to be turned into a city

By Kate Harries AWARE News Network

The stage is set for a hearing in May at which Simcoe County councillors will deal with applications from developers for an extra population allocation of 7,500 people – which would give the go-ahead to a presently stalled second phase of a massive and controversial expansion of the village of Midhurst.

The Midhurst developers asked Springwater Council in January to support them at the county level (the county is the decision-making authority on the matter), but Springwater voted 7-0 against any extra population being allocated to the small rural municipality.

The Midhurst developers have also applied to the Ontario Municipal Board. They want to determine whether the OMB can approve the population allocations without county council approval, or reverse a possible denial by the county of a population request. A hearing is set for July.

The county’s position is that there is no appeal available of any county decision on the Chiarelli allocations. This makes it very important that the county’s process stands up to legal scrutiny. Last week, county councillors voted in favour of setting up a semi-judicial hearing to deal with the Midhurst applications in May, and any others (none are expected) later in the year.

The process recommended in an April 12 staff report to council is to take place over two weeks. First, councillors sitting in committee of the whole receive a staff report which they discuss, but no recommendation is made. Two weeks later, council reconvenes under the Statutory Powers Procedure Act (as happened for the Beeton Woods special permit). The developers and other parties, for and against, may address council. Council debates the matter and makes a decision.

County lawyer Marshall Green told councillors that if there was to be an application for a judicial review of their decision, the court would want to know that the process has been “fair, open and transparent. I believe it meets those criteria.”

But Springwater Mayor Bill French expressed reservations. He would prefer the two-week gap occur after all parties have been heard and all the evidence is in. “I’m being asked to make a decision the same day as I get all the information and hear the debate and I’m not sure that that really is fair and equitable.”

French said that he supports having a robust process and added that it makes sense that Springwater is dealt with separately. The township, with a population of 18,500 is facing these additional requests for 7,500 people, while it is already dealing with applications that will add 12,000 to 15,000 people, he added. “This represents a 40 per cent increase in our population above the 70 per cent increase. We would like it dealt with separately and very cautiously.”

Green noted that there’s a tight timeframe on dealing with the population allocations, because “this whole thing disappears in January.”

January 19, 2017, to be precise – that’s the five-year expiry date attached to the allocations, which were a special gift to Simcoe County from then Municipal Affairs Minister Bob Chiarelli.

What is playing out now is the final act in a charade that set aside sound planning principles for Midhurst, details of which were first made public at the Nottawasaga Inn in Alliston on January 19, 2012. That was when Chiarelli announced Amendment 1, the special Simcoe County changes to Places to Grow (also known as the Growth Plan), the planning legislation that aims to control sprawl across the Greater Golden Horseshoe.

The developers stood up and applauded Chiarelli that day. Regular folks who attended the announcement wondered why. It was only later, through the work of dedicated Midhurst residents, that the intricacies of the Special Rule and other sprawl-promoting provisions became clear.

Chief among them was a gift of an extra 20,000 population to be shared across the county for development over and above the forecast limits set for each of the county’s 16 municipalities. So far, only 2,652 of that amount has been awarded, to development projects in Adjala-Tosorontio, Collingwood and Penetanguishene. The total unused population allocation is 17,348.

There are no pending requests, except for those from Midhurst. And it appears that there was no pressing planning issue to be addressed by the Chiarelli gift – except in Midhurst.

Unless the Midhurst developers are awarded a share of the Chiarelli population allocation, Phase 2 of the Midhurst Secondary Plan – the part that will turn the sleepy village into a bustling city and gobble up 1,900 acres of farmland – is stalled, despite the fact that it was approved by a previous township council.

(It’s not as if Phase 1 alone isn’t a massive expansion. That’s represented in the 12,000 to 15,000 extra population that French mentioned in his remarks to county councillors. Some 150 conditions, imposed following an OMB hearing, have to be met before Phase 1 goes ahead.)

Under the Chiarelli allocations, Midhurst Developments Doran Road Inc. has applied for 5,500 population; Frankcom Estates (Midhurst) for 942 and Carson Trail Estates (Midhurst) for 504. According to a Simcoe County staff report, two other recent requests for Midhurst development – one from Midves (280) and one from Walton (310) – bring the total extra population requested for Springwater to 7,536.

Under the Places to Grow legislation, Springwater Township’s population, presently 18,500, is forecast to grow to 24,000 by 2031. Thanks to the actions of previous township councils, there are already approvals for a total of 38,000 people; that’s before any recourse to the Chiarelli allocations.