Model homes bylaw change favours developers – Midhurst resident

By David Strachan Springwater News August 26 2013
On Monday, August 26, at the Joint Planning/Council meeting at Springwater Township offices, staff brought forward a request from developers who are involved with the Midhurst Secondary Plan and are now recommending that By-law 5000 be revised to accommodate this request. Traditionally Springwater has dealt with the approvals to construct model homes through the subdivision agreements, but now the Township is being asked to issue permits for model homes prior to registration of the subdivision plan and agreement. The developers have requested that the by-law be amended to permit a maximum of three (3) Model Homes to be constructed prior to registration of the plan of subdivision.
During question period, David Strachan from Midhurst commented that approval of this request would demonstrate council favouritism to developers over the clearly stated wishes of the residents. He also pointed out that such a request was surely premature, pending the outcome of the Environmental Assessment process currently underway and which should surely be completed before any approvals are granted in connection with the development. Council voted to authorize staff to draft out a revised by-law for submission to council at a later date. The revision will also include minor housekeeping changes.
Another question raised by the public expressed concerns regarding treated effluent from the proposed Midhurst development entering Minesing Swamp. The question focused on the discharge of pharmaceuticals for which no adequate filtering system is as yet available.
Also on Monday’s agenda was a request for the expansion of the Elmvale Settlement Area Boundary, presumably to expedite additional development in that area. It will be interesting to see what becomes of this request
It is now 22 months since Springwater Township announced that the County had mysteriously approved the plan to build 10,000 houses in Midhurst – the same plan that the County had refused to approve 3 years earlier because it failed to conform to provincial regulations. Many residents of Springwater Township have been engaging councillors in the hope of convincing them that the plan is unnecessary, unpopular, destructive to both farmland and rural Ontario charm and will likely be detrimental to the Springwater economy. After all, which city or town in Southern Ontario can you point to as an example of where rapid growth in population has been accompanied by a reduction in deficits and property taxes? Certainly not Barrie.