Simcoe County rushing through radical new Official Plan in summer with no public consultation

News release from AWARE Simcoe, Environmental Defence and Rescue Lake Simcoe Coalition August 19 2012

MIDHURST — Simcoe County residents say it’s time they are consulted about the newly proposed Official Plan.

Many residents believe that the plan promotes sprawl and air pollution by failing to adequately protect forests, wetlands, farmland and water quality. As a result, AWARE Simcoe, Environmental Defence and the Rescue Lake Simcoe Coalition are calling for an open public consultation process, before it’s too late.

“It’s been four years since the public has had a chance to review this Official Plan, which is to be a blueprint for our county for more than two decades,” said Sandy Agnew, chair of AWARE Simcoe’s subcommittee on growth. “We call on County Council to organize public meetings and engage in proper consultation on a plan that will be a blueprint for more than two decades.”

Official Plans describe county or municipal councils’ policies on how and where land should be used. They are supposed to be created with significant public input, including at least one public meeting. Instead of a public meeting, Simcoe stakeholders were sent a letter telling them the Official Plan was available for viewing and that only written comments would only be accepted.

The public has had no say since 2008, even though the plan has been dramatically changed. Elected representatives on local municipal councils are being pressured to provide comment within weeks of first seeing the document, and the public isn’t being asked at all. The timing of the approval process–during the height of summer–only serves to underscore how indifferent Simcoe County is to listening to the very people affected by sprawl development.

“We know that the planned urban and suburban growth in the Lake Simcoe watershed will increase phosphorus pollution significantly just when the Lake Simcoe Protection Act requires that it go down. Simcoe County should require that all new development meet green standards, and prove that they won’t negatively impact water quality before they are approved,” said Claire Malcolmson of Environmental Defence and the Rescue Lake Simcoe Coalition.

With no forums for public discussion, the groups have created a joint petition for concerned citizens. They would like the Plan to be strengthened to reduce the impacts on water quality in Lake Simcoe and the Nottawasaga River.   

 “Studies to determine the carrying capacity of the land base should guide population targets, not past population growth,” Malcolmson continued.  Those studies are required by the province’s own laws in the Growth Plan, but have yet to be done. As a result, the groups warn, the proliferation of sprawl means a loss of farmland, forests and wetlands.

 “The fact that the Official Plan has been rewritten to comply with the Province’s Amendment 1 doesn’t make it right. The Ontario Government was irresponsible to favour the interests of developers and the political aspirations of lower-tier politicians over sound planning principles,” said local resident David Strachan. Midhurst is a community that is to grow ten-fold under changes made to the Growth Plan

Read AWARE Simcoe’s full submission.