Re – Johnston’s Point

Ross Sutherland | Nov 27, 2019

Thank you to Jeff Green for covering the latest twist in the saga of the development on Johnson’s Point in the middle of a provincially significant wetland, but it is missing some important information. 

One of the small victories at the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) was an order that the developer apply to the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) for a benefit permit; that is, the MNR had to evaluate the site for any species at risk and issue orders to protect, or mitigate, the risk to those species. 

As Jeff notes, the Township does not have any legal authority to enforce the Benefit Permit.  Be that as it may, a partially blacked out permit creates a series of significant problems for the Township and limits public accountability and environmental protection.  

The OMB ruling says the benefit permit has to be incorporated into the conditions of approval for the development, conditions the Council has to vote on.  The conditions of approval also guide how planning creates site plans for the development and how the building department issues permits.  After everything is approved, it is the Township’s job to enforce the Conditions of Approval. Fulfilling all of these responsibilities seems impossible if the recommendations in the Benefit Permit are not known.

The planning department is working to have a full, un-redacted version, that is one with no deletions, attached to the final Conditions of Approval.  While this is still a work in process, it is one that needs to be solved for the Council and Township staff to do their jobs monitoring the development. 

Ross Sutherland

Councillor – South Frontenac – Loughborough District