County has growing pains

By CHERYL BROWNE – Barrie Examiner — May 23 2012

SPRINGWATER TWP. — There’s nobody in Springwater who isn’t aware that times they are a changin’.

Growth and expansion documents and decrees by the Ontario government have forced the hand of all municipalities, large and small, to create a plan for growth in their area.

However, the Places to Grow Act 2005 that specifically deals with 91 settlement areas has more addendums than a chicken has feathers, so at this point, many planners, councillors, staff and residents no longer understand what pertains to their area.

Take Springwater’s Midhurst Secondary Plan that is being contested by the province, and is supposed to be decided at the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) sometime in 2013. 

With Amendment No. 1 announced by Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Bob Chiarelli on Jan. 19, it was announced by the county’s David Parks, director of planning, development and tourism, that an additional 20,000 people could fit into Simcoe County without running afoul of the January amendment.

With a current population of 18,000 people, and the disputed growth in Midhurst of up to 30,000 people by 2031, Springwater Township Mayor Linda Collins believes the strict criteria put in place to manage the growth replaces the fear factor of exponential unplanned growth.

“It’s not something to be fought over, and it’s only available for five years,” Collins said.

Until there’s a clear understanding between the province and county council, she says no one should interpret too much into the numbers.

At Tuesday’s county council meeting, officials were also awaiting the province’s approval of the county’s Official Plan, which may be ready to read in-camera in June. The timing of the release of the plan should give municipal planners two months to digest and regurgitate to their municipal officials the pertinent changes before bringing it out into the open later this fall.

“I don’t want people to think we’re hiding something,” Collins said. “It’s not about the county’s interpretation, it’s the clear delineation of the province’s policy that we will present, once our corporate committee has had time to review it.”

However, Kate Harries, a former reporter turned activist, said that they want to see the approved plan as early as possible.

“We think the great unwashed public should be shown what’s in it, too,” Harries said.

Attending county council chambers Tuesday, Harries represents the grassroots group AWARE Simcoe, founded in 2010 after helping quash the Site 41 landfill. Its mandate has expanded to including demanding accountability in the county’s 16 municipalities, as well as Barrie and Orillia.

In 2011, AWARE Simcoe took part in the consultation process about Simcoe County’s growth plan and Amendment No. 1 with Chiarelli in January. Harries said Park’s recent announcement that the county’s growth could exceed the expected population of 667,000 by 2031 with an extra 20,000 bodies is difficult to come to terms with, especially in Springwater Township.

“We’re concerned about Midhurst and what it means to the county as a whole,” Harries said. “Once the land’s paved, it’s gone.”

AWARE Simcoe will be holding a news conference to discuss growth at the Simcoe County Museum today at 11 a.m.

Midhurst Ratepayer’s Association had members in attendance at the county council meeting as well.

David Strachan is keeping a watchful eye on the dates and numbers, but feels the province’s addendums have changed the rules to suit their own purposes.

He points out the transitional matters amendments, specifically the special rule, takes the wind out of the ratepayer’s sails when it comes to holding the township accountable to settlement area population limits.

The province’s special rule states a matter that meets the criteria of being before the OMB (but not yet decided), having the approval of County of Simcoe, and that wants to designate land inside an area of settlement for urban use, was written specifically about Midhurst.

“Our concerns are the authorities, whether it’s the county or the province, are somehow ignoring the fundamental things as far as Midhurst is concerned,” Strachan said. “For one, it was never intended to be a settlement area, it was intended as a study area and two, the entire Midhurst development plan is defying the Places to Grow Act.

“Now,” he said pointing to Amendment No. 1’s special rule, “the Ontario government has devised a rule to legalize the Places to Grow changes.”

Another grassroots watchdog known as Friends of Midhurst (www.friendsofmidhurst.ca) is trying to inform locals, while remaining unbiased about the proposed development.

“It’s not that we’re opposed to development, we’re welcoming to all newcomers, but it’s got to be on a scale that’s manageable,” said Kim Hand, spokeswoman of the group.

She said of the 3,200 residents in Midhurst, 1,400 people signed a petition voicing their concerns about the planned expansion.

“We want to work in collaboration with the township, but we find them to be dismissive. They talk about stakeholders. Well, we’re the voters,” Hand quipped. “It’s like in order to create something beautiful for some people, you’re destroying what’s already beautiful now.”’

(AWARE Simcoe note: the OMB hearing on the county’s appeal of the province’s non-decision regarding the county’s Official Plan is to be heard some time in 2013. The county has also revealed that its interpretation of Amendment 1 allows approval municipalities to approve development in up to 91 settlement areas in excess of the province’s population forecasts.)