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UPDATED Friday Harbour seeks unusual joint Simcoe-Innisfil public meeting in bid for 1,000 extra units

By
In Council Watch
Feb 11th, 2018
1 Comment
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Gerry Marshall

Warden Gerry Marshall 

UPDATE County councillors voted Tuesday February 13 to approve this report. The Town of Innisfil will announce a public meeting date soon

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The following is a staff report regarding a request from Friday Harbour Village Inc. (Geranium Corp.) for Simcoe County to hold a public meeting jointly with the Town of Innisfil regarding its Official Plan Amendment application to allow a extra 1,000 units to be built.

From Engineering, Planning and Environment Planning, Development & Tourism
CCW – 18-055 February 13, 2018

Application for County of Simcoe Official Plan Amendment – Friday Harbour Unit Increase

That Item CCW 18-055, dated February 13, 2018 regarding an application by Friday Harbour Village Inc. to amend the County of Simcoe Official Plan, be received; and
That the authority to hold the statutory public meeting for the County of Simcoe Official Plan Amendment (OPA) to the Town of Innisfil be delegated to the Warden and Chair of Corporate Services, or their designate(s) also being in attendance at the public meeting.

Executive Summary
The County of Simcoe Planning department received a complete application to amend the County’s Official Plan. The effect of the amendment would be to permit an additional 1000 resort residential units to be built within the existing development area of Friday Harbour. A County Official Plan Amendment is required because the applicable County policy contains specific unit number references. An application for a Town of Innisfil Official Plan Amendment has also been submitted. The Planning Act requires a statutory public meeting for each application. To streamline the process and facilitate the holding of a single coordinated public meeting, County staff are recommending that County Council delegate authority to hold the public meeting for the County OPA to the Town of Innisfil.

Background/Analysis/Options
On December 22, 2017, the County’s Planning department received an application to amend the County of Simcoe Official Plan. The application was received from Friday Harbour Village Inc. and, if approved, would facilitate an increase of 1000 units within the existing approved development area. The County Official Plan Amendment (OPA) is required to adjust policies and the specific reference to the permitted unit number that is contained within Section 3.14 of the
February 13, 2018 Committee of the Whole – CCW 18-055 Page 2
County Plan. It should be noted that an associated application to amend the Town of Innisfil Official Plan was also submitted to the Town.
Having reviewed the County OPA application submission and received the information required, County staff advised the applicant that the application was deemed complete as of January 22, 2018. Planning staff will proceed with processing and a review of the application in accordance with the Planning Act and all applicable policies and legislation. As part of this process, the County is required to hold a public meeting with regard to the amendment to the County Official Plan. County staff have discussed the procedural requirements and note that it would be more efficient to hold a combined public meeting for both the Town and County OPA applications. County Planning staff confirmed with County Legal counsel and the County Clerk that this approach is possible, as contemplated in Section 4.11.11 of the County Official Plan. This section specifically encourages joint processes and hearings for Planning Act applications that also involve a County OPA. For reference, the County has already adopted the standard practice of delegating public meetings for plans of subdivision/condominium to local council.
To facilitate a combined public meeting for the County and the Town OPA applications, County Council is required to pass a resolution authorizing the Town of Innisfil to hold the County OPA public meeting on its behalf. County staff recommend that the delegation be subject to the Warden and the Chair of Corporate Services or other members designated attending as representatives of County Council. County staff will also attend the public meeting. This will ensure that any public comments can be incorporated in the County’s consideration of the OPA.
To be clear, the decision to approve and adopt the County OPA will remain with County Council at such time County Planning staff are prepared to bring the matter forward with a recommendation.

Financial and Resource Implications
There are no financial or resource implications associated with this Item.

Relationship to Corporate Strategic Plan
There is no direct relationship to the Corporate Strategic Plan.

Reference Documents
There are no reference documents associated with this Item.

Attachments
There are no attachments to this Item

Prepared By Nathan Westendorp, RPP, Manager of Development

Approvals
David Parks, Director of Planning, Development and T ourism
Debbie Korolnek, General Manager of Engineering, Planning Corporate Performance
Mark Aitken, Chief Administrative Officer

One Response to “UPDATED Friday Harbour seeks unusual joint Simcoe-Innisfil public meeting in bid for 1,000 extra units”

  1. Ann says:

    Since there were 2 separate applications filed, there should be 2 separate public meetings held..one for the Town of Innisfil and one for the County of Simcoe.

    That way people will have two opportunities to make comments and voice their opinions on this insane application by Geranium Corp.

    Also, every Simcoe County Councillor should be required to attend the public meeting, not just Marshall & Little, so they can all hear the comments being made there first-hand, since they will have the final say on the approval.

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