The town will have to wait until the next report on the wastewater environmental assessment (EA) before going ahead with any industrial or commercial development.
Wellington County planner Sarah Wilhelm brought a report to the Aug. 9 council meeting after being asked to investigate the town’s options to proceed with development before the completion of the EA.
Currently, Erin’s official plan (OP), which is separate from the county’s OP, states the servicing and settlement master plan (SSMP) must be completed and approved before any major development is permitted.
This, however, is holding the town back, said Mayor Allan Alls, who asked for the report on July 12.
“I would like staff to take a look at how to amend our OP to get at least one or two of these (developments) underway, while we’re finishing off our SSMP. We’re dying if we don’t,” he said in July.
“It’s the only way we can help our tax situation, it’s the only way we can get some progress on what we need in this town.”
At the August meeting, Alls clarified he was speaking about commercial and industrial development, not residential.
In her report, Wilhelm explained the SSMP is complete, but the EA needed to implement the plan is still years away. In the meantime, the town has provided opportunities for smaller in-fill development and minor commercial and industrial development.
She added that once the county receives the EA report, scheduled to be presented in November, planners would be in a better position to answer whether the town should or should not move forward with an OP amendment.
“We feel like this would be a good time where we’ll have additional information about what areas of the town cannot be serviced and where we’ll be able to consider those questions that we’ve posed in the report,” said Wilhelm.
Councillor John Brennan asked what is the value in delaying development.
“I can’t really answer that until we have some of those questions answered in the fall,” answered Wilhelm.
“But perhaps there might be consideration if an area will never be serviced by a full municipal system, then that might be an appropriate place to allow some interim development to take place.”
Wilhelm added she hopes to report to council in a timely manner after the EA presentation.
“Looking at this process and how it is unfolding, I think it would be very optimistic to think we’ll have a shovel in the ground by 2020,” said interim CAO Derek McCaughan. “So we’re still a long way out for this process to conclude.”
The discussion then moved into options for an OP amendment.
“The town may also wish to consider revoking its official plan and introducing special policies within the county official plan, which offers an up-to-date policy framework and would avoid duplication,” stated Wilhelm in her report.
Erin and Centre Wellington are the only county municipalities that have their own local plans.
“We have our own OP as a town, and we’ve never talked about if we’re going to keep our own or are we going to go with the county,” said councillor Matt Sammut.
“I think that’s overdue.”
Alls added a county OP could add efficiencies to the existing procedures.
“It may be the most efficient way for the Town of Erin because the county, first of all has to approve our official plan number one, number two we’re using the county planners anyway,” said Alls.
“So why not be part of the county plan but have a separate chapter in the county plan that says Erin above it?”
However, councillor Jeff Duncan thought it was best to stay with the town’s OP for now.
“What we had talked about was the town was going to be maintaining its own official plan throughout the majority of this EA process because it was a simpler route to go other than trying to get into a whole bogged down system of a whole new OP with the county,” Duncan said.
“It would make sense for us to have our own OP and that would be the document that we would revise for this process to figure out where the serviced lands are and non-serviced and then after that point we’ll talk about whether we want to do our own OP, maintain that or go in with the county.”
He added, “There is differences and there is value in having our own OP.”
McCaughan said there might be a better time for a discussion of an amendment.
“I understand the town’s OP is due for a review, that would be an appropriate time to have a more fulsome discussion for a town OP,” he said.
Council agreed to look into an amendment once the next EA report is available.
