Good discussion and strong concerns were raised by the development community during a recent public meeting held by Midland council, who pointed out that the town was taking a backwards approach to their proposed official plan amendment in the face of Bill 103 and Bill 13 from the province.
The meeting offered the public a look at the draft amendments to the town’s official plan, which provides the overall goals and objectives for its planning and development future. Both Bill 109, More Homes for Everyone Act, 2022, and Bill 13, Supporting People and Businesses Act, 2021, were behind the driving force for the amendments.
Planning, building and bylaw director Adam Farr gave an overview of the official plan amendment (OPA) during the public meeting.
“Bill 13 is a bill that allows council to delegate the authority to pass zoning bylaws that are of a minor nature where official plan policies have been adopted, enabling them to do so, and delegate that authority to council or staff. The intent is to speed up the approvals process for minor bylaws,” Farr explained.
“Bill 109 has made several changes to the planning process, the most noteworthy of which would be a requirement that there be a mandatory return of planning fees for specific applications according to a specific time-frame effective January 1, 2023,” said Farr, adding that a possible delay until July could take place.
Farr noted that the town had responded to legislative requirements previous to the meeting, one such instance being a council decision to streamline certain planning and development criteria approval in the days before Bill 109 passed in April.
Further OPA proposals, according to Farr, would give staff authority over bylaws for holding and for temporary use, as well as changes to policies through the pre-consultation process and their requirements. Aiming for a faster completion through a rigorous and detailed pre-consultation review would result in better products and transparency with fewer appeals and less reliance on taxpayers.
When the floor opened up for discussion, attendees approached to comment.
Dan McLaughlin, senior partner with Walker’s Electric, brought up the supply and demand of housing with demand being set by government.
He stated that three items in the proposed OPA made development “much worse”: expansion of the pre-consultation process; powers concentrated in the planning department; and increased expense and risk imposed on developers.
“Mayor (Bill) Gordon, a key part of your election platform was pausing the Midland Bay Landing Corporation Development because you wanted to take consideration as to whether that was the right thing to do and get further public input. That is an important development for the town of Midland, but it’s only one development,” said McLaughlin.
"The OPA that are proposed here are far more reaching and long-lasting, and will affect every development that occurs in the future.”
His was a comment which was echoed by other attendees: Bill Kernohan speaking as a “resident and taxpayer”; Natalie Boodram, senior planner with WSP Canada Group Limited; and Ellen Ferris, planning associate for MHBC on behalf of Pratt Homes.
Kevin Bechard, a professional planner and senior associate with Innovative Planning Solutions in Barrie, spoke at length from his 35 years of experience to the main problems he saw with the proposed document, and had a fairly simple solution to keep the scales balanced for both the municipality and for developers.
“Conditions L, M, and N (of section 7.7.3)… impose a position where the planning director has the absolute authority to deem an application incomplete if, in his opinion, these conditions are not satisfied for confirmation, clearances and permits in advance of the application. Typically we would see those types of items produced very much later in the review process, probably after nearly two years of review.
“By deleting L, M, and N,” offered Bechard, “that will remove those requirements; it will still require the development industry or applicants to come forward with complete applications providing a full suite of information for review and consideration. It will also require the municipality to process the application within the timelines that are considered by Bill 109.
"And where they can’t get absolute certainty of a permit or certificate or clearance, then it would have to be framed as a condition of approval, and the developer would go forward and achieve that approval and the municipality would be able to achieve its permits in that timeline.”
At one point in the meeting, Gordon addressed the response by Premier Doug Ford earlier that day in which Ford raised criticism to municipal leaders voicing opposition to the provincial legislation by telling them to “get on board” and “stop whining”.
“Language like that from the top really gives me pause for thought,” said Gordon.
“I, for one, continue on planning to whine. A lot,” Gordon emphasized. “I’m not content to sit down and shut up.
"This is development in our community which is so critical, which is the foundation as to why Mr. Farr and his team are putting together responses, and I do appreciate the concerns, especially if there’s perceptions of overreach. This is something that council will consider.”
Council encouraged members of the public to submit written comments regarding the OPA to the town before the December 22 deadline. Detailed information on the town’s official plan is located on the town website.
The draft proposed official plan amendment report, along with staff explanations of each section, can be found in the council agenda on the Town of Midland website.
Council meetings are held every third Wednesday, and can be attended virtually through Zoom by contacting the clerk’s department of Midland town hall for a link to the meeting.
Council meetings can also be viewed on Rogers TV cable channel 53, or through the livestream on the Rogers TV website. Archives of council meetings are available through Rogers TV and on the Town of Midland’s YouTube channel.
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