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Feature Article February 6

Feature Article February 6, 2002

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North Frontenac Official Plan back to the drawing boardby Will CybulskiMay 25is the date set for public input to North Frontenac Municipalitys Official Plan, but in the interim, the rough draft will not go forward without further discussion and likely revision.

On January 28, the municipalitys planning consultant Glenn Tunnock presented his version of a proposed Official Plan to Council, but it didnt all sit well with Mayor Stan Johnston and members of the Townships Planning Committee.

The Plan focused on a wide variety of key themes, but the two words that seemed to be intertwined with a number of areas were maintenance and management. Issues included environmental stewardship, managed growth and development, adequate and accessible services, resource management, and public health and safety.

Maintenance and enhancement of the quality of surface and ground water, provisions for proper waste and sewage disposal, storm water management, environmental impact studies for lakefront development, conservation of natural heritage features such as wildlife and fish habitat or wetlands, and conserving the ribbon of life were held out as some of the priorities. The ribbon of life is described as a 15-metre natural state buffer; a setback requirement to protect water quality and the fishery as well as prevent erosion.

Tunnocks proposal also called for the encouragement of growth and build-up of community services in hamlet areas, the application of planning principles to lot sizes, public road accesses, services, buffering, land uses compatible to the surrounding area, and mitigation of impacts from commercial land use.

The presentation got sidelined for a while when it came around to lot numbers allowed in severances, lot sizes, sub-division development, setbacks, and the creation of new private roads. Council would like a plan that allows for some flexibility in the number of severances it can approve on a given parcel of land, as the process of creating a subdivision is very expensive. The draft plan allowed for some wiggle room, and Tunnock cautioned against hard and fast numbers in that area. Development on designated highly sensitive trout lakes would require an environmental impact study, and setbacks there would be 300 metres for building, and 60 metres for sewage systems. There would be no development allowed that would require a new private road; instead, only fill-ins on existing roads of this type. In reply to a query, Tunnock also suggested that lot sizes be at least 1.5 acres in size.

Mayor Johnston took exception to the plan, in that 67% of North Frontenacs land mass is already protected by the MNR, with perhaps only 10-15% of remaining land suitable for development. He voiced the opinion that, while he agreed that development must be carried out in an environmentally sensitive manner, what was being put forward would stifle development, and subsequently, any economic growth in the municipality.

At that juncture, members of the Planning Committee who were present in the audience pointed out that they too had some concerns with the proposal, but it appeared that those issues had not been considered in the draft. Tunnock was asked whether or not Municipal Affairs would assume that, when a proposed Official Plan was submitted, it had the blessing of Council and the Planning Committee. When he replied in the affirmative, a decision was made that he meet again with the Planning Committee to iron out the differences.

As the draft requires input from the Planning Committee, Council ,and the Province prior to it going before the public, it would appear that some work lies ahead. Stay tuned for further developments, and mark May 25 as a must attend day on your calendar.

With the participation of the Government of Canada