Council determined to make up time on long-awaited Official Plan approvals

Niagara-on-the-Lake council and staff continue to work on a revision of their latest Official Plan, a long-term framework of priorities to guide development of the community.  

Received at Tuesday’s committee-of-the-whole planning meeting was an update on the document and its associated timeline, which includes a proposed work plan to guide the process for revisions and approval by next October.

The current plan was adopted in 2019 and submitted to Niagara Region, which is the approval authority. But while approved by the previous council, it was not approved by the region, which was waiting for its own Official Plan approval by the province that incorporated some changes in provincial policy, which was explained by the report on Tuesday’s agenda, as well as by planning director Kirsten McCauley. 

“Due to staff resourcing issues, together with the numerous policy and legislation changes from the province, the timing for completion of a revised adopted NOTL Official Plan has been delayed,” says the staff report. 

This town council committed early in its term to having a revised and approved Official Plan. With the regional plan now approved by the province, staff explained in its report, the town can move ahead with conforming its framework with provincial policies and the regional plan. 

The town’s plan will still need to be approved by the region and the province when it comes up for consideration next October. 

Coun. Erwin Wiens, who was chair of Tuesday’s planning meeting, told The Local that the key next step is making sure the town’s Official Plan is aligned with upper levels, a complicated process, he explained. “It’s like re-doing the whole document, bringing it into conformity.”

The province previously ordered a number of modifications to the region’s plan, which Wiens said the town will also incorporate into its own plan, such as multiple dwellings on one property getting “as of right” approval, granted in a quicker fashion and without public hearings or heavy municipal scrutiny if the proposal is deemed to meet necessary requirements. 

After March 31, due to changes related to how the region and lower-tier municipalities handle land use planning matters, most responsibilities won’t be the region’s anymore, and will be passed on to Niagara’s lower-tier municipalities. 

Coun. Wendy Cheropita asked McCauley if the town is equipped to handle this. “We are prepared and ready for that shift to take place,’ McCauley said.

Coun. Sandra O’Connor inquired about what she believes to be a missing element, which is feedback from the town’s advisory committees. “I’d like to see this incorporated,” she said. 

McCauley replied that taking this avenue is already “part of an overall engagement strategy” that is planned to take place in the future. 

The update provided this week helps the town align with recent provincial policy changes, provincial plans, the newly approved Niagara Official Plan, and planning for local priorities, as the town’s plan is required to conform to these documents. 

Steve Burke, recently hired as the town’s manager of policy and heritage planning, will lead the review process, the town said in a statement released before Tuesday’s meeting. 

Key policy areas for review include growth management until 2051 taking into account population and employment forecasts, intensification policies and targets, natural heritage system policies and mapping, agricultural system policies, employment areas designation and policies, secondary planning policies, housing policies and watershed planning, the town statement said. 

The work plan includes key milestones such as public consultations, stakeholder engagement, and collaboration with provincial authorities. 

Public meetings and events will provide community members with opportunities to share their input and help shape the plan, the statement said. 

In a letter from Paul Calandra, minister of municipal affairs and housing, he says the ministry is aware that there are many lower-tier Official Plan amendments, particularly ones that are site-specific, and that the upper-level regional plans have exempted from the need for its approval. 

“These matters would continue to be reviewed and adopted by the relevant lower-tier municipality without an additional level of approval,” he wrote in his letter. 

During the discussion at Tuesday's meeting, Coun. Gary Burroughs pointed out that the letter from the minister is addressed to Lord Mayor “Gary Bradley,” seemingly a mix-up of the regional and municipal leaders.