Town threatens to appeal County Official Plan modifications

“North-south“ split in new water and waste water strategy an issue
New  Tecumseth Free Press April 19, 2012
New Tecumseth has served notice to Simcoe County that the the Town is prepared to appeal any changes made to the upper tier’s Official Plan that are not first vetted by its member municipalities.

Specifically, “that Council direct the Town Solicitor to forward a letter to the County of Simcoe requesting that the County circulate the proposed modifications to the Simcoe County Official Plan to the local municipalities for review and comment, prior to the modifications being presented to County Corporate Services Committee and County Council; and further that the Town notifies the County that the Town may appeal the Simcoe County Official Plan and proposed modifications should this consultation not occur or if the Town is not satisfied with any of the proposed modifications.”
The direction was confirmed last night during a special meeting of council, flowing from in camera discussions that occurred Monday night.
At the root of the OMB threat, is the County’s Water and Wastewater Visioning Strategy, which was presented to County council last month, and is splitting the member municipalities along “north and south” lines.
The strategy identifies “servicing gaps” in water and wastewater capacity across the County, and recommends a regional approach to solving it that would involve a bigger financial role from the development community at-large.
In Essa Township’s case, the strategy recommends that the sewage treatment plant in Angus and CFB Borden could be expanded to full capacity and used to service new development in Everett and New Lowell. Last night, Essa Township council approved a motion rejecting such actions.
New Tecumseth has also been a vocal opponent of Simcoe County moving into the water and wastewater jurisdictions, which are local tier responsibilities.
The visioning strategy recommends that “County staff proceed with implementing the recommended Water and Wastewater Visioning Strategy policies through modifications to the adopted County Official Plan; and “All future County planning applications and municipal Official Plans should be reviewed with regard for the constraints and opportunities identified in this Report; and The future redesignation of additional agricultural or rural lands by the County for urban uses in settlement areas should have regard for the conclusions and recommendations of this document.”
The visioning strategy is currently in circulation to the member municipalities, and there’s a Monday deadline imposed by the County for comments, which is why New Tecumseth councillors met in special session last night. The letter from Mr. Feehely is to serve as the Town’s initial response.