Many area municipalities are concerned with proposed changes to the Niagara Escarpment Plan and want to see the commenting period extended.

Elected officials, planners and other municipal employees from around Grey, Bruce, Dufferin and Simcoe counties gathered at the Grey County Administration Building on August 4 to discuss the proposed changes. The Niagara Escarpment Commission recommends adding an additional 45,000 hectares to the plan and changing existing land use designations in some areas.

Affected municipalities are very concerned with the proposals and don’t believe the public has received enough information.

“We’re very worried that landowners and residents aren’t getting all the information they need to understand the changes and properly comment,” said Grey County Warden Alan Barfoot. “Map details are still changing today and the only public meeting for this area happened weeks ago.”

Representatives from the NEC were on hand to answer questions and provide more information. More maps were displayed; however, they are not considered final versions.

Other stakeholders who attended the meeting agreed the commenting period, ending September 30, 2016, needs to be extended to give residents and municipalities enough time to provide feedback. Attendees also suggested more public education and consultation is needed.

“Many of the affected land owners don’t even realize their zoning could be changing,” added Barfoot.

The municipalities gathered will work together to express their concerns to the Province with a unified voice.

“We stand a better chance of having our voices heard by the Province when we work together,” said Warden Barfoot. “Staff from the affected municipalities will collaborate and create a draft motion to be shared with all respective councils.”

In addition to extending the commenting period, municipalities hope to be more involved in with the NEC decisions in the future.

“We believe municipalities should be partners in decisions that affect land uses within our borders,” said Randy Scherzer, Director of Planning and Development with Grey County. “A lot can be gained by working together. Municipalities need to be partners in this process instead of just a commenting agency.”

For more information contact Rob Hatten, Communications Officer, at robert.hatten [at] grey.ca (robert[dot]hatten[at]grey[dot]ca) or 519-372-0219 ext. 1235.

Background

Ontario is reviewing four Provincial Plans including the Niagara Escarpment Plan. As part of this review, the Niagara Escarpment Commission has proposed changes to the plan. Changes include expanding the area of the NEC, changing land use designations, altering recreation areas and making changes to forest management policies.

Proposed Additions

• 45,677 hectares of new land are being proposed in the plan for a total of 84,114 acres of land.
• 32,559 hectares of the new land is within Grey County.
• Two-thirds of this land is located in the Municipality of Meaford (21,323 hectares). There are also significant portions in Georgian Bluffs (4,279 hectares), Town of the Blue Mountains (4,464 hectares) and Grey Highlands (2,358 hectares).

Changes to land uses can significantly impact how property owners can or cannot develop their land. Local municipalities have no decision making control for development in areas under the jurisdiction of the Niagara Escarpment Plan.

Changes to land use designations may also impact property assessment. The total financial impact of the proposed changes has not been calculated.

More information about the Niagara Escarpment Commission and their proposed changes to the Niagara Escarpment Plan can be found on http://www.escarpment.org/planreview/index.php.

Please note: NEC plans and documents can be quite large files that may take time to download.