Tuesday 19 January 2010

County has new Growth Strategy

Northumberland County now has a Growth Management Strategy which it has forwarded to the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure.
The strategy, created by the county consultant, Meridian Planning Consultants, and passed on December 9, 2009, outlines how the county and the seven lower-tier municipalities will implement the province's Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe.

The provincial plan sets out to coordinate where the population and emplyment will grow between 2009 and 2036.

The county report contains recommendations that address how the population and employment forecast in the Growth Plan developed by the Province should be allocated to the seven local municipalities; what the minimum intensification and Greenfield density targets should be in the six urban area with built boundaries; and what policies should be considered by the local municipalities when bringing their Official Plans into conformity with the Growth Plan.

The Growth Plan was allowed a county-wide population growth of 16,000 between 2001 and 2031. By 2006, the county population had already grown by 3,705, leaving only 11,877 to allocate in the plan which has been sent to the province for approval.

Of the 4,000 jobs recommended in the plan, 1,000 were already created by 2006, leaving 3,000 to allocate to the various municipalities.

In Cramahe the strategy allocates a population growth of 611 in Colborne and 184 in the rest of Cramahe by 2031. Given the current average household size and number of house starts in the township in 2009, the prediction is relatively accurate.

Brighton has been allocated 1,245 of which only 87 are slated for rural areas.

Bearing this mind, the report states the strategy does not serve to restrict population growth, provided infrastructure is available.

The potential does exist to exceed the provincial forecast. In the case of intensification, the only test to be met is whether it is good planning.

It is important to note a provincial statement indicating,“A land supply that exceeds the growth currently forecasted does not mean the County’s municipalities must halt development (subdivision and zoning) approvals. Local municipalities may approve new development where land is already designated for development and for which servicing has already been approved and allocated. The municipality’s decisions to approve future development must however meet the Growth Plan objectives of building complete communities, directing major growth to settlement areas that offer municipal water and wastewater systems and limiting growth in rural areas.”

It will be up to the local municipalities to determine how they will bring their Official Plans into conformity with the Growth Plan. Public meetings will be held, and residents and landowners will have an opportunity to comment on the decisions made at the local level to implement the Growth Management Strategy under the Planning Act.
The Final Summary Report entitled “County of Northumberland and Its Member Municipalities Growth Management Strategy” that may be viewed by the public on the County’s website at: http://www.northumberlandcounty.ca/forms/growthmanagement.asp






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