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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2015-12-17, Page 1CitizenTh e $1.25 GST included Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County Thursday, December 17, 2015 Volume 31 No. 49 DRIVE - Pg. 14 Blyth service groups succeed with toy drive HOMESTAY - Pg. 7 Local families take in exchange students Publications Mail Agreement No. 40050141 Return Undeliverable Items to North Huron Publishing Company Inc., P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, ON N0G 1H0 INSIDE THIS WEEK: All the news that fits As part of a special 30-minute report on the happenings in Bethlehem one cold winter’s night many centuries ago, students from Huron Christian School donned alter-egos and costumes to perform ‘Mayhem in Bethlehem’. Shown is King Herod, brought to life by Josh Guichelaar, being interviewed about the Messiah. From left: Leigha Poortinga, Guichelaar, Josh Goudy, Julia Waanders, Brooke Kootstra, Zoe Nyman and Makayla Hahn (Denny Scott photo) County introduces new accessibility guidelines G2G receives Trillium Grant With new accessibility standards taking effect Jan. 1, 2016, Huron County last week approved a new universal design and accessibility guideline for site plan control. Huron County Planner Claire Dodds presented the report to Huron County Council at its Dec. 9 committee of the whole meeting, explaining the importance of the new plan. This is just one of the many steps that will be taken in the coming years, Dodds told council, with Ontario aiming to be fully accessible by the year 2025. In her report, Dodds told councillors that Ontario is the first jurisdiction in the world to enact such sweeping legislation – establishing both a goal and a time frame for accessibility. She added that Ontario is also the first place in the world to enact standards to ensure that those with accessibility issues can more readily participate in activities in their communities. The guidelines coming in 2016 specifically deal with a lot of planning issues, Dodds said, such as parking spaces, curb ramps and paths, which are regulated by municipalities through the site plan control process. The Huron County Accessibility Advisory Committee, she said, strongly believes in the standards and felt it’s important to have universal standards across the province, as well as across Huron County. The new standards were circulated by way of a municipal workshop that was held at the end of October, Dodds said, that included lower-tier chief building officials, chief administrative officers, planning co- ordinators and planners. The Huron County Accessibility Advisory Committee’s Building and Site Plan Review Sub-Committee was also consulted. In Dodds’ report, 2012 figures from Statistics Canada reported that 15.4 per cent of Ontarians have a disability, 37 per cent of whom are aged 65 or older. With the rate of disability increasing with age, and with Ontario facing an aging population, the report states, accessibility is only going to become more important in the province as the years go on. The process is working ahead, however, as the 2014 Provincial Policy Statement is further supporting improved accessibility by promoting barrier-free living and planning practices. In terms of adopting the new guidelines, the county, as well as lower-tier municipalities, must officially repeal the 2008 Huron County guidelines and adopt the 2015 document. Council passed the motion. Those involved with the Goderich-to-Guelph (G2G) Rail Trail announced on Tuesday that the trail has received a Trillium Grant for $150,000. Between the grant, and the matching funds G2G Inc. now has to come up with, the $300,000 should get the company to a position where the trail, along with some pass- arounds, is eventually accessible and open from end to end. Chris Lee of G2G Inc., in an interview with The Citizen Tuesday morning, said that boosters of the trail were thrilled when they heard they had been approved for the grant, thinking it was a nice Christmas present to receive. “We are grateful for the generous contribution from the Ontario Trillium Foundation,” said Doug Cerson, Chair of G2G Inc. in a press release. “It’s a testament to our vision and passion to help us reach our bold goal of a fully connected trail and the financial support prepares us well for 2016’s planned progress on the project.” The application was made last spring in hopes that funding would boost work on the trail. Lee says, Huron County has done an extensive amount of work to identify shovel-ready industrial land and how to plan for its use going forward. At Huron County Council’s Dec. 9 committee of the whole meeting, Scott Tousaw, Director of Planning and Development, presented the report, which was authored by Watson and Associates Economists Limited. The report contained facts and figures pertaining to the location of potentially developable land, where the need for that land will be greatest and industries that are projected to grow that could use the land. Tousaw told councillors that the report, which will now become a living document that will change over time as data changes, had already been endorsed by the county’s new Economic Development Board at its Nov. 16 meeting. The report graded industries based on their presence and demand in Huron County and their trend in North America. Growing industries like construction and healthcare, which are abundant in Huron County, are good signs for Huron County, Tousaw said. It shows that Huron County is on the right side of The Citizen Celebrating 30 Years 1985~2015 By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen New lands strategy adopted By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen Continued on page 23 Continued on page 19 By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen