Public meeting held regarding proposed new Official Plan

Amherstburg Municipal Building.

A public meeting was held last Tuesday night with residents able to offer input on the town’s proposed new Official Plan.

The nearly 90-minute meeting preceded the regular session of town council with a public presentation made by Amy Farkas of Dillon Consulting. Farkas told Amherstburg town council the process has a number of phases, a series of open houses and “a deep dive” into the County of Essex Official Plan.

Feedback from last Tuesday’s public meeting will be factored into the draft plan. She said a target time period to be back before town council with a final draft is late summer.

“We really want to make this a user-friendly document,” said Farkas.

The current Official Plan was adopted in 2009 with five amendments to it since then. Municipalities are required to update their Official Plan every five years.

The draft of the proposed new Official Plan features 14 chapters, she stated. Goals include supporting economically, culturally and environmentally conscious growth; preserving agricultural lands and supporting the agri-food network; improving housing opportunities and encourage affordable housing; enhancing community services, establishing a framework for community engagement and guiding future studies.

“By 2051, the anticipated population will be approximately 40,000 people,” she said. 

That translates into a need for 14,100 housing units and the town needs to target the creation of 10,000 jobs.

Farkas added new policy directs that 20 per cent of all new rental housing and ten per cent of new ownership housing should be affordable and attainable. The draft Official Plan (OP) introduces a minimum target of 30 per cent of new housing units through intensification.

Areas of town could feature such as neighbourhood commercial, mixed use commercial, the downtown core and general commercial in addition to the residential and industrial zones. She noted the town will also be working on an update to its zoning bylaw.

Aaron Marcotte, a lawyer representing Collavino developments, said his client owns property near Ranta Marina. That was originally classified in a settlement area and now it is not.

“That significantly impacts the future plans for the property,” he said.

Mayor Michael Prue said he and Deputy Mayor Chris Gibb have had discussions on this at the county level and believed that issue is being worked on. Manager of planning services Chris Aspila said a letter has been sent to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing attempting to restore that as a settlement area, with director of development services/deputy CAO Melissa Osborne indicating the issue is tied in with the county Official Plan. The county plan is now in the hands of the province, thus the letter has been sent with the request.

Greg Nemeth, a local environmental advocate, called for enhanced protections for wildlife and the environment.

“You never hear anything about watershed or wildlife,” said Nemeth. “It’s never brought up. I don’t understand why it doesn’t get more of a priority.”

Nemeth said an area he used to walk would take him four hours several years ago and now it’s down to 15 minutes.

“I didn’t have to go far because there wasn’t anything else there,” he said. 

Prue added changes in the county OP enhances environmental protections with Aspila adding the environment is a priority in the town’s new OP.

“We have to protect the natural heritage features of Amherstburg,” said Aspila

Draft plans are in place in the draft OP for council’s consideration, Aspila added.

Local resident Phil Kasurak outlined a series of questions, from local gateways to town such as Sandwich St. S. and what can be done on the east side of the road versus the west side of the road and mixed use on Simcoe St. and Sandwich streets, noting Sandwich St. S. only has so many lots while it would take the assemblage of land on Simcoe to develop there.

Kasurak also noted that 130 Sandwich St., the former General Amherst High School, is still listed as institutional. He also said a number of residents want to maintain a small town look and feel.

The General Amherst site and requests regarding the potential development of that property will come to town council in a future report, Osborne indicated.

Input gathered at the public meeting will be compiled in a future report.

Public meeting held regarding proposed new Official Plan

By Ron Giofu