Yes, it’s unusual: County to hold information sessions on 2008 (2012) Official Plan

Two sessions set for Monday April 20 will include question and answer sessions

By Kate Harries AWARE News Network

It’s taken three years, but the public will finally get some explanations about the 2008 Simcoe County Official Plan that was spurned by the provincial government, rewritten in 2012, approved later that year by county council, and is presently before the Ontario Municipal Board which has made more changes.

Planning director David Parks told county council on Tuesday that two Official Plan information sessions will be held on Monday April 20 in Midhurst.

This is quite unusual, to have public information sessions so late in the process, but Simcoe County’s Official Plan has quite an unusual history, so read on.

AWARE Simcoe has campaigned since 2012 to have the county bring details of the Official Plan to the public in a meaningful way, through meetings where changes and their implications for communities and neighbourhoods can be explained to people.  Other groups joined with us, a petition was launched, a group of county councillors led by Penetanguishene Mayor Gerry Marshall supported the idea, but the previous term of council refused, stating that consultation undertaken in 2008 would suffice, along with new information being posted on the county website.

Now there’s a new county council. On February 26, councillors heard from Sandy Agnew of AWARE Simcoe about the Official Plan that has been before the Ontario Municipal Board over the past two years – a process that he described as anti-democratic and skewed in favour of those who can afford lawyers.

Worse, Agnew told the councillors, changes have been made to the OP since it was approved by council in 2012 –  and the way the OMB works is that these changes are made following closed meetings, presented to the two OMB panel members, and then rubber-stamped.  Although the OMB process is touted as an opportunity for the public to participate, options are very limited. Link to Agnew presentation.

Springwater Mayor Bill French (seconded by Clearview Deputy Mayor Barry Burton) brought forward a motion for Simcoe County to hold public information sessions that will include a question and answer session.

Debate focused on whether the public might be misled into thinking that their opinion is being solicited – as the matter is before the OMB, the meeting would be solely to provide information, at least on those issues on which the OMB has already ruled (Sections on agriculture, rural, greenlands, healthy communities and resource conservation are among those still outstanding.)

CAO Mark Aitken said that a public information session would be of value. “The document has changed through the process,” he noted, and while all the information has been online, it can be provided in a more understandable form, “in layman’s terms, rather than a bunch of technical documents.”

Ramara Mayor Basil Clarke pointed out that it’s been seven years since consultation meetings were held and with regard to those matters still to be decided, it would be useful to hear from the public. “We (Ramara) are a party… we can change our position,” he said.

Some councillors expressed concern about the cost of the exercise. Advertising in newspaper across the county would cost $10,000 to $12,000, Parks advised.

Aitken was reassuring on the issue. “This is a very significant process,” he said. “What this might cost is somewhat immaterial in the bigger picture.”

The Committee of the Whole motion passed with five voting against – Adjala-Tosorontio Deputy Mayor Doug Little, Collingwood Mayor Sandra Cooper, Innisfil Mayor Gord Wauchope, Oro-Medonte Mayor Harry Hughes and Wasaga Beach Deputy Mayor Nina Bifolchi.

Bifolchi said she felt there was no point to having a public meeting that will cost $10,000-$12,000 to advertise as well as staff time “to appease a group that has been part of the process.”

Asked whether any group other than AWARE Simcoe had asked for public meetings, Debbie Korolnek (general manager of planning, engineering etc.) advised that a similar request had been received from the Simcoe County Federation of Agriculture. In fact, numerous other organizations made the request in 2012, including Environmental Defence and Rescue Lake Simcoe Coalition.

On Tuesday (March 10), when the Committee of the Whole recommendation had to be approved by council, Hughes raised the cost issue again. On a motion seconded by Severn Mayor Mike Burkett, and despite objections from French and other supporters of open government,  council voted not to pay the cost of advertising the information sessions.

They will rely instead on social media, and on posting notices on the county and municipal websites. Which is ridiculous – if you’re going to do it, do it right. Don’t try to turn a significant move towards inclusiveness into an empty gesture.

Why does all of this matter? Here’s some background:

If you love where you live, be it an urban neighbourhood, or near woodland and fields, and especially if you own your home, you need to know about your municipality’s Official Plan. (We have two OPs as they’re called, Simcoe County’s and your local municipality’s.)

The reason is that it’s the road map for the future. It’s the most important document underpinning one of the most important jobs your council does, which is land use planning – namely deciding what goes where, ensuring there’s space for what we need, protection for what we value.

Here a wetland, there a subdivision, there a shopping complex. Here single-family homes, there town-houses and high-rises. This space for farmland, this for expansion of a quarry, this for a highway. And so on. What’s set out in the Official Plan might not happen for years, if ever. Or it might start tomorrow. It’s not written in stone. Council has to review it every five years to make sure it’s still relevant and complies with any new legislation. Also, council can allow amendments during the life of the OP (which is a bad idea because it weakens the credibility of the document.

One scenario we have all heard of is when a farmer sells some land dirt cheap (because it’s zoned rural) and the new owner has the connections or influence the farmer didn’t have and is able to get the zoning changed to residential. Surprise! Unless the neighbours paid attention to the Official Plan Amendment notices they received, they could wake up to totally unexpected clear-cutting.

Remember the notices inviting public input regarding Simcoe County’s current Official Plan (which underpins the OPs of the 16 lower-tier municipalities)? It was adopted in 2008. You might not have been living here. Or you might just not remember.

The province refused to approve the county’s 2008 OP. It violated provincial legislation because it allowed excessive development. In 2012, county and provincial bureaucrats worked together for several months to come up with a revised document that was posted on the county website that June.

Almost 300 people signed an AWARE Simcoe petition asking county council for changes and, especially, public meetings to focus public attention on what was in effect a NEW Official Plan. The petition was submitted in August, along with other comments from the public – many resulting from AWARE Simcoe efforts to raise awareness of  the new OP.

County staff submitted a report to council in September that disregarded AWARE Simcoe’s suggestions, and those of allied groups.

A last-ditch appeal by AWARE Simcoe prompted a response from Penetanguishene Mayor Gerry Marshall but his motion to have two open houses on the OP was shot down at committee and defeated 16-11 at council.

Then warden Cal Patterson summed up the majority view. He said he thought any one who had concerns had already made comments and a meeting would only hear from “the same people all over again.”

AWARE Simcoe has remained engaged despite continuing rejection and representatives have attended all of the hearings held by the Ontario Municipal Board.

We will be sending out more information about the Official Plan and the upcoming county information sessions, to be held April 20 between 2 and 4 pm, and again between 6 and 8 pm at the Simcoe County Museum. Email aware.simcoe@gmail.com if you wish to be added to the AWARE mailing list.