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HomeMy WebLinkAboutLakeshore Advance, 2012-08-29, Page 9OffIciaI plan now in Its fourth draft Lynda Hillman-Rapley Lakeshore Advance Although councils have been develop- ing Official Plans for many years, and must have a new one at least every five years - the new one for Lambton Shores is caus- .ig much controversy. An official plan describes upper, lower or single -tier municipal council's policies on how land in the community should be used. It is prepared with input from your community and helps to ensure that future planning and development will meet the specific needs of the community. That being said, Lambton Shores has a committee with councilors, the mayor, and the deputy mayor, members from both Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority and St. Clair Conservation Authority and members from the pub- lic. The committee here is advisory and has functioned as a steering committee and a technical advisory one. There was a representative from Municipal Affairs and Housing who had attended meetings as revisions to each draft were being made. He is available by request for future meet- ings if needed. Other technical experts have attended in the past to ensure their document is consistent with provincial regulations. The original steering cotnmittee for this OP began in -October 2008. Invitations to participate were sent to over 400 agencies, community associations, interest groups, and developers and also advertised in paper. The first draft was completed July 2009. There was a public information cen- tre (PIC) in 2009. There was direction from council after PIC and staff worked with the consultant to revise. The second draft was received and further revised by staff. Then the steering committee, staff and council reviewed the third revision in June 2010. The planner prepared a fourth draft based on those revisions then carne the election, new council and the document is on hold until the new council is ready to deal with it. Ruth Inman and John Devet are the only remaining members on the steering com- mittee from the previous council term. Mayor Bill Weber has 22 on municipal council. Community member Sharon Crown has been part of the Planning proc- ess since Forest council years- giving her 32 years as a community member on ipmmittees such as this. The planner has -30 years in this position and the conserva- tion employees; Geoff Cade, Patty Hay- man and Muriel Andrade also have much experience in their respective roles with provincial policies. Getting up to speed now are new councilor Dave Maguire and deputy mayor Elizabeth Davis Dagg who were inaugurated this year. The OP has page after page of issues that will dealt with such as where new housing, industry, offices and shops will be located, what services like roads, water - mains, sewers, parks and schools will be needed, when, and in what order, parts of your community will grow and commu- nity improvement initiatives. You need the OP because it lets the public know what the municipality's gen- eral land use planning policies are. It makes sure that growth is coordinated and meets your community's needs. It helps all members of your community understand how their land may be used now and in the future. It helps decide where roads, water trains, sewers, garbage dumps, parks and other services will be built. It provides a framework for estab- lishing municipal zoning by-laws to set local regulations and standards, like the size of lots and height of buildings. It pro- vides a way to evaluate and settle conflict- ing land uses while meeting local, regional and provincial interests and it shows council's commitment to the future growth of your community. As can be imagined, the OP is hundreds of pages and is researched by the commit- tee. It then goes to the council for review. When council prepares the OP, it shall be consistent with the Provincial Policy Statement issued under the Planning Act and conform to, or not conflict, with any applicable provincial plans. The Provincial Policy Statement contains clear, overall policy directions on matters of provincial interest related to land use planning and development. The "shall be consistent with" ntle means that a council is obliged to ensure that policies under the Provin- cial Policy Statement are applied as an essential part of the land use planning decision-making process. It is expected that the council will implement the Pro- vincial Policy Statement in the context of other planning objectives and local circumstances. Once those concessions are adhered to, for the statutory five year official plan review, a special meeting of council that is open to the public, as well as an open house information session and at least one public meeting are held and a copy of the OP is made available to the public in advance of the public meeting. Any per- son or public body can provide written comments and/or speak at the public meeting about the proposed plan. The document, now in its fouth draft has been available at the municipal offices but was asked by resident Bob Sharer to have it and it is now on the CFGG site. It clearly states it is a working copy and no decisions should be made from this docu- ment. At last week's OP meeting, it was discussed as to whether this document should he on the municipal web site and that request will go back to council although chair Ruth Ilintan says that request is premature as council has not reviewed the document yet and they are not close to being finished reviewing it. Lambton Shores has been working on their OP for the past two years and are now reviewing the document page by page. Last week Deputy mayor Elizabeth Davis Dagg set up a meeting with mem- bers of the Southcott Pines executive with resident Bob Sharen. She said she went there independently and not as a council member or as an OP committee member or as an Adhoc committee member, want- ing to make sure residents read the docu- ment and if they have questions- they should voice them before the document is passed. (Changes are being made at every cotnmittee meeting and residents will have an opportunity to see the document and review it before council passes it.) Wednesday, September 21, 2011 • Lakeshore Advance 7 TeiIav's Yutb... Tomornwa's Leder Nominations are now being accepted for the Ontario Junior Citizen of the Year Awards The strength of our community lies in solid citizens. If you know a young person, aged 6 to 17, who is involved in worthwhile community service; a special person who is contributing while living with a limitation; a youth who has performed an act of heroism; ora 'good kid' who shows a commitment to making life better for others, doing more than is normally expected of someone their age - help us recognize their contribution -- nominate them today! Nominations will be accepted until November 30 Contact this newspaper or the Ontario Community Newspapers Association at www.ocna.org or 905.639.8720 ext. 239 NOMINATE SOMEONE TODAY! A 434 CD: ONTARIO JUNIOR CITIZEN OF THE YEAR AWARDS Coordinated by: ocna Sponsored by; Direct Energy..