THE COUNTY OF NORTHUMBERLAND OFFICIAL PLAN

Transcription

1 THE COUNTY OF NORTHUMBERLAND OFFICIAL PLAN on the Proposed Official Plan

2 Overview of Presentation 1. Purpose and Role of County Plan 2. Overview of second draft of Official Plan 3. Next Steps 2

3 Why is an Official Plan Being Prepared? Province amended Ontario Regulation 352/02 to require all uppertier municipalities to adopt an Official Plan by March 2015; Intent of the Province is to delegate the responsibility for most land use planning matters to municipalities; This means that the Province will no longer play a significant role in the local approvals process; This change by the Province also affects the Counties of Leeds & Grenville, Frontenac, Lennox & Addington and Dufferin. 3

4 Project Oversight 1. The Official Plan process is being overseen by a Steering Committee made up of the following elected representatives: Alnwick/Haldimand - Councilor John Logel Brighton - Councilor Craig Kerr Cobourg - Councilor John Henderson Cramahe - Deputy Mayor Jim Williams Hamilton - Mayor Mark Lovshin (County Councilor) Port Hope - Mayor Linda Thompson (Warden) Trent Hills - Mayor Hector Macmillan (County Councillor) 2. In addition, a Technical Advisory Committee comprised of Municipal staff has also been established 3. The Project Manager on behalf of the County is Bryan Weir 4

5 Process Process initiated Two Open Houses 2013 Sept Oct Nov Dec Release of Issues Paper dated March 4 Two Open Houses 2014 Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July Meetings with some local Councils on employment lands First Draft of Official Plan Public Meeting During this time there have been numerous meetings with the Steering and Technical Committees. 5

6 Purpose of Official Plan Section 16(1) of the Planning Act indicates that an Official Plan shall contain goals, objectives and policies established primarily to manage and direct physical change and the effects on the social, economic and natural environment of the municipality Given that the seven lower tier municipalities already have Official Plans - it is not the intent of the first County Official Plan to generally deal with land uses and policy issues that should much more properly be dealt with in the lower-tier Official Plans. It is therefore proposed that the first County Official Plan deal primarily with land use issues that cross municipal boundaries. These include - growth and settlement, economic development and the protection of the natural environment. 6

7 Components of Draft Official Plan Part A contains the basis for the Official Plan, the Vision and Principles that are intended to provide the basis for the interpretation of policy; Part B contains the County s growth management policy framework; Part C contains policies on the five land use designations that are shown on Schedule A; Part D contains policies on primarily the resource areas and other constraints and opportunities identified on Schedule B; Part E contains general development policies, including those relating to transportation (with the transportation network shown on Schedule C); and, Part F contains policies on implementation. 7

8 Key Elements of Vision in Part A It is the intent of the Official Plan to establish a policy framework in the Official Plan that: Provides the strategic direction required to realize common goals and objectives; Provides flexibility where flexibility is desired and strength where it is needed; Complements and supports local initiatives; Informs and enhances the collaborative processes that now exist in the County; and, Recognizes the diversity that exists and builds on the strengths of the County as a whole and each of its component parts. 8

9 Other Key Elements of Part A Delegation of Approval Authority: Policy indicates the following: Upon obtaining this approval authority function, the County shall support the delegation of that approval authority, where permitted by the Planning Act or the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, to local municipalities. Planning Period: The planning period for this Official Plan is to Planning for infrastructure and public service facilities beyond the 20-year planning period is permitted. Planning authorities may plan beyond 20 years for the long-term protection of employment areas. 9

10 Population Growth Allocation in Part B 10

11 Other Policies in Part B Indicate that local municipalities decide on how to allocate population between multiple urban areas; Indicate that local municipalities also decide on what the rural allocation is, provided urban allocation not reduced; Establish minimum intensification and density targets; Establish the basis for new Major Employment Areas; Deal with servicing and reserve capacity; Establish the rules for the conversion of employment lands; and, Permit the trading of land within municipalities. 11

12 Proposed Designation Urban Areas/Rural Settlement Areas Urban Areas/Rural Settlement Areas - The 45 settlement areas in the County are divided into urban areas, which consist of the six urban areas that have built boundaries (Brighton, Colborne, Campbellford, Hastings, Cobourg and Port Hope) and the thirty-nine other settlement areas, which are considered to be rural settlement areas. Policy highlights: Warkworth to be considered as urban area by Official Plan. Six urban areas encouraged to become complete communities. Rural settlement areas also encouraged to develop. Housing targets are established. 12

13 Proposed Designation Major Employment Area Major Employment Area - This designation applies to employment lands that are to be the site of employment uses that benefit the County as a whole. The policies: Restrict permitted uses to industrial uses only; Establish the need for a Secondary Plan; Require that the lands be fully serviced; and, Do not deal with municipal boundary issues. 13

14 Rationale for new Major Employment Area Designation Based on work completed in 2012, it was determined that: 1. There is very little available investment ready serviced employment lands in the County; 2. A number of the existing industrial areas are not in ideal locations and/or are far from the 401; 3. Many of the existing industrial parcels outside of urban areas have been designated for years but remain undeveloped; 4. There is a very limited supply of larger parcels for transportation and logistics uses in particular; and, 5. The potential is very limited in the two larger, urban centres, where there is servicing capacity for additional industrial uses. 14

15 What is Required to Designate new Urban Land Provincial policy indicates that new urban land cannot be designated if there is a 20 year supply of land that is already designated for that use. The current land supply would provide in excess of a 20 year supply however, many existing industrial areas are not in ideal locations - there is a need to trade Other factors to consider include: 1. Whether un-serviced land can be traded for serviced land; 2. Section of the Provincial Policy Statement and Section of the Growth Plan which require the consideration of a number of agricultural, servicing, financial, transportation and environmental issues; and, 3. The mechanics of making this work (how will this be accomplished in lower tier Official Plans?). 15

16 Location of Proposed Major Employment Areas Three candidate areas initially identified - The factors considered included: The level of fragmentation (the less the number of ownerships the better); Minimal environmental and topographical constraints (flat and featureless); A minimum of 150 hectares of land required; Immediately adjacent to an urban area with full services and servicing capacity; Good access to 401 interchange; and, The potential for future uses to impact residential uses was low. On the basis of these factors, two areas were selected. 16

17 Proposed Major Employment Area (Port Hope) 145 hectares 17

18 Proposed Major Employment Area (Hamilton) 77 hectares 18

19 Factors Considered in Identifying Candidate Parcels for Trading 1. Combination of smaller ownerships and absence of municipal services; 2. Not within urban boundary and prospects for servicing are remote; 3. Securing MTO approval for public road or driveway access is very remote; 4. Narrow depth or width of the lands, in addition to the setback requirements from rail-lines and/or County Roads; 5. Environmental or topographical constraints limit development options; and/or, 6. Lands are owned by the MTO or are separated from a public road by MTO lands. About 50 parcels of land with a total land area of about 448 hectares have been identified. It is recognized that some Councils and members of the public do not support the down-designation of some properties all comments to be considered. 19

20 Proposed Local Industrial Lands to be Re-Designated in Local Official Plans Brighton 20

21 Proposed Local Industrial Lands to be Re-Designated in Local Official Plans Alnwick-Haldimand 21

22 Proposed Local Industrial Lands to be Re-Designated in Local Official Plans Cramahe 22

23 Proposed Local Industrial Lands to be Re-Designated in Local Official Plans Cramahe 23

24 Proposed Local Industrial Lands to be Re-Designated in Local Official Plans Trent Hills 24

25 Proposed Local Industrial Lands to be Re-Designated in Local Official Plans Trent Hills 25

26 Proposed Local Industrial Lands to be Re-Designated in Local Official Plans Hamilton 26

27 Proposed Section B13 states: Potential Use of lands to be Re-designated At the time each local municipality with lands on Schedules D1 to D11 updates its Official Plan to bring it into conformity with the County Official Plan, the lands identified on Schedules D1 to D11 shall be re-designated to an appropriate land use designation that does not permit employment uses as a principal use. What does this mean: 1. The timing of the change in the land use designation at the local municipal level is at their discretion; 2. The nature of the land use designation applied by the local municipality is a local decision; and, 3. The nature of the uses permitted instead will need to be reviewed by the local municipality on a case-by-case basis and will be dependent on: Whether the lands are in a settlement area or not; The location of the property in relation to other land uses; The nature of servicing and access; and, The appropriateness of the alternative uses on the site. 27

28 Proposed Agricultural Area Designation Agricultural Area - This designation applies to lands that are considered to be the County s prime agricultural area. The boundaries of this designation are the same as in the local Official Plans. The policies: Permit the widest range of use permitted by the Provincial Policy Statement; Provide guidance on agriculture-related uses and on-farm diversified uses; Provide guidance on home industries; and, Provide guidance on land use compatibility. 28

29 Proposed Rural Area and Environmental Protection Area Designations Rural Area - This designation applies to all lands outside of the urban areas and rural settlement areas and which are not within the Agricultural Area designation. The boundaries of this designation are also the same as in the local Official Plans. The policies: Recognize that lot creation decisions are local municipal decisions; Permit the widest range of uses as permitted by the Provincial Policy Statement; and, Identify examples of recreation and tourism uses. Environmental Protection Area - This designation applies to all Provincially Significant Wetlands and Areas of Natural and Scientific Interest as identified by the Ministry of Natural Resources. 29

30 Proposed Schedule A 30

31 Proposed Schedule B 31

32 Proposed Schedule C 32

33 Next Steps Following this Public Meeting: 1. Meetings with TAC and Steering Committee to be held on August 6, 2014 to discuss comments received 2. Stakeholders to be given until September 2, 2014 to provide written comments 3. All comments to be assessed and final Official Plan to be prepared 4. Council adoption scheduled for September 17,