Central Frontenac Inching Towards Increasing Severance Opportunities

Jeff Green | Aug 21, 2025

Sonya Bolton, Manager of Planning for Frontenac County, which provides contract planning services for Central Frontenac, presented an updated report to Council on the number of vacant lots that are available for building in Central Frontenac.

She said that she was “gobsmacked” by the results of a study that was done to determine how many of the 2376 vacant lots previously identified by the county GIS (Global Information System) department in Central Frontenac, do not have road access and are therefore not capable of being built on.

A total of 536 land parcels, 22% of the original amount, do not have road access, and this brings the vacant building lot total down to 1846.

Bolton said that further work by summer interns in the GIS department, is already underway to determine how many other lots can be pulled off the list because the properties are not privately owned or have other reasons why they cannot be used as building lots.

“I did not want to wait for this meeting to get that work underway because we only have the students for two more weeks,” she said.

Bolton's report came to Council at a time when Council has asked their township staff to prepare a Request For Proposal (RFP)  to hire another planner to take on the job of creating an official plan amendment to increase the number of lots that can be created from an existing lot of record in the township.

Chief Administrative Officer Cathy MacMunn reported that it will take at least another six weeks to prepare the RFP and up to 3 months to get a planner hired and working on the amendment.

In the meantime, Council had to decide whether to have Bolton keep the interns and county GIS staff working on the project.

Councillor Danny Meeks said “it's not so much vacant land that we are concerned with, it's property owners who want to be able sever lots so that members of their family, kids and grand kids, can build.”

“It's also about  the size of the property," said Mayor Frances Smith.

“What would you suggest to somebody who has five kids and 300 acres, and can only create two additional building lots because they are not going to do a plan of subdivision and all that,” said Meeks.

Bolton said that as a planner she cannot look at individual circumstances.

She added that whether it is the county planning staff preparing an OP amendment, or a planner answering an RFP, the background study work would be required for such an amendment to be approved, to provide justification that increasing the number of severances is consistent with provincial planning guidelines.

She said that once this study is complete, she will be able to bring options to Council, in September, about how they can move forward with approving a third lot for Central Frontenac property owners.

She said looking at what other Frontenac municipalities have in place will be part of that process. In South Frontenac, three lots can be created from a single  lot of record, in addition to the retained lot.

Councillor Philip Smith asked what the timeframe for an Official Plan amendment is.

Bolton said she could not say at the moment.

“I can bring timelines to the September meeting,” she said.

“I'm concerned that it could be sometime in the next term of council,” said Philip Smith.

“It is looking more like spring of 2026,” said Frances Smith.

“Let's say the fall of '26,” said Philip Smith.

Council gave the go-ahead for the county planning department to continue with the lot study, and will wait for Bolton's report in September as well as for Cathy MacMunn to bring them a proposed RFP. At that  time they will decide how to proceed.