The County of Haliburton is undertaking a 5-year review of the County’s Official Plan. This page provides updates on the Review, access to preliminary reporting, public consultation scheduling and feedback and draft policy provisions. Please return to this page to follow along as the Review progresses and to find notices of consultation meetings. Background Information The County of Haliburton is currently reviewing and updating its Official Plan as part of a five year review required under Ontario land use planning legislation. FoTenn Consultants Inc., an urban planning and design firm based in Ottawa with a regional office in Kingston has been retained by the County to conduct the review and updating process. FoTenn has partnered with XCG Consultants Ltd. to undertake the review of water and septic servicing policies and Niblett Environmental Associates who will provide direction on environmental conservation policies. The review will include an assessment against Provincial land use planning policy and legislation and consultation with key stakeholders and members of the community. The revised Official Plan must be consistent with the 2005 Provincial Policy Statement issued under the Planning Act and other applicable legislation. The updated Official Plan will recognize the aspirations of the community within the context of current Provincial planning directions. The Official Plan for the County of Haliburton is a high level policy document that provides direction to the lower tier municipalities on issues related to growth and development. While each of the four individual Townships within the County has their own Official Plan that address the unique opportunities and challenges of the communities, the County Official Plan provides policy direction on matters that impact the County as a whole. In order to achieve this, the County Official Plan provides policy direction on matters that relate to the growth of residential and employment lands, resource and environmental management and county wide infrastructure. To find more information on Official Plans and land use planning processes in Ontario, visit the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing’s Citizens’ Guides to Land Use Planning website at: http://www.mah.gov.on.ca/Page338.aspx The current version of the County Official Plan was adopted by County Council in 2003 and subsequently approved by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing in 2006. At that time the Plan had regard for the 1997 Provincial Policy Statement. Since then the new 2005 Provincial Policy Statement has been issued. The 2005 Provincial Policy Statement provides direction on matters of provincial interest related to land use planning and includes policies that: - Promote the development of land use patterns that are compact and efficient;
- Provide for the accommodation of an appropriate mix of housing, employment areas and recreational and open space uses to meet long term needs;
- Avoid development and land use patterns that may cause harm to the environment or public health;
- Promote development patterns that minimize land consumption and servicing costs;
- Protect natural resource areas from development that would preclude their long-term economic value; and
- Preserve cultural built heritage and heritage landscapes for their long-term contribution to the community.
The Review Process The Official Plan Review began in February, 2009. The Review is being led by a Steering Committee and County Planning Staff, who report to County Council. The Review will take place in three stages: Data Collection and Background Review, Policy Formulation and Policy Refinement and Final Adoption. The following outline provides a brief overview of the stages: Stage 1: Data Collection and Background Review - The consultant team has, and continues to, review data and County planning documents to assess existing conditions.
- Pre-consultation meetings were held with Provincial ministries responsible for land use planning:
- Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing
- Ministry of the Environment
- Ministry of Transportation
- Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs
- Ministry of Natural Resources
- Ministry of Northern Development and Mines
Through this discussion, Provincial interests were identified.- Meetings with key stakeholders were conducted to obtain input and comments on key topics.
- An initial public consultation meeting was held to provide an opportunity to outline the key objectives of the project. Members of the public have also been providing written comments to the County Planner.
- A Background Report has been prepared to summarize the information collected through Stage 1 processes.
Stage 2: Policy Formulation Based on the Stage 1 information gathering processes, policy recommendations have been made for consideration by the Steering Committee and County Council. A first draft Revised Official Plan was prepared as well as a chart comparing existing Official Plan policies with proposed changes. Stage 3: Policy Refinement - The draft Revised Official Plan was circulated to the Provincial ministries who evaluated the policies against Provincial policies and legislation.
- Two open houses and a special County Council were held between June and September, 2009 for the public to review the draft revised Official Plan and ask questions of County staff and the consultant team and provide comments or concerns for consideration in the final document.
- The proposed changes to the Official Plan were prepared in three formats: a table that compares existing policy with proposed, a consolidated document; the Official Plan Amendment.
- Based on the comments received on the draft revised policies, the final Official Plan document will be prepared. The County will review the document.
- The Official Plan will be revised and presented to Council and the public.
- Any final comments will be received by the consultant team.
- The amendment to the Official Plan was adopted by County Council on February 17th, 2010.
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