Elgin County Official Plan Review

The final Discussion Paper #5 – Population, Housing and Employment Forecasts and Associated Land Need Analysis is now available for review.

The report is a key background document to the Official Plan Review. It provides a long-range growth outlook for the County and its lower-tier municipalities and assesses urban land requirements to 2051. It also provides Official Plan policy recommendations to managing growth over the next 30 years consistent with the Provincial Policy Statement, 2020 (PPS).

The report also provides population, housing, and employment forecasts for the County of Elgin to 2051.

Please visit our webpage and provide your comments on this important topic!

Comments will be accepted until Friday August 12 at 4:30 p.m.

Affordable housing is a broad term which encompasses a range of housing types. It includes both low-cost market housing for homeowners and renters, and non-market housing available at subsidized rates. The County is seeing a stronger demand for a larger variety of housing types and sizes to meet the diverse range and needs of residents and workers. The discussion paper will look at Provincial and local policies that refer to affordable housing, and what policies and tools have been implemented in surrounding municipalities. The paper will also review a range of planning and financial tools that are available to encourage the creation of affordable housing.

When reviewing this document, questions to ask include:

• How can the County encourage more affordable housing units?

• Is the County willing to invest monies in incentivizing affordable housing?

• What tools and policies ensure affordable housing are the best fit for the County?

Discussion Paper #4 - Housing and Affordability

We Want to Hear From You!

The County of Elgin hosted three (3) Community Feedback Meetings to discuss the Draft Natural Heritage Systems Study and Source Water Protection Plan. If you missed these meetings you can still provide comment until November 26, 2021. Comment here or email opreview@elgin.ca.

Watch the presentations from the Community Meetings and send us your feedback.

Natural Heritage Systems Study

Source Water Protection

Background

Natural Heritage Systems Study

• A Natural Heritage Systems Study is a network of interconnected natural features and areas such as woodlands, meadows and wetlands etc.
• The purpose of a Natural Heritage Systems Study is to identify natural heritage features, recognize local linkages and wildlife corridors, improve existing environmental policies to better protect environmentally significant areas, protect and enhance regional biodiversity, help mitigate the effects of climate change, and conserve natural legacy for future generations.
• The Province of Ontario requires municipalities to identify Natural Heritage Systems and preserve the diversity and connectivity of these features.
• The requirement to identify Natural Heritage Systems is translated into Official Plan policies that inform development, environmental studies and conservation efforts.

Source Water Protection Plan

• Source Water Protection Plans contain policies that either recommend or require actions be taken to address activities identified as threats to drinking water sources.
• The Clean Water Act, 2006 was approved by the province as a result of the contaminated water tragedy in Walkerton Ontario in 2000.
• The recommendations of the Source Water Protection Plan include policies that will be added to the County and Local Official Plans to safe guard against uses that may pose a threat to drinking water.

Click here for more detailed information on the draft Natural Heritage Systems Study and to read the associated discussion paper.

A discussion paper on the Elgin Natural Heritage Systems Study, Source Water Protection, and Environmental Policy Amendments has been prepared for your review.

Discussion Paper #3 Elgin Natural Heritage Systems Study, Source Water Protection, and Environmental Policy Amendments

Appendix A - Excerpts from County Official Plan

Appendix B - DRAFT Elgin Natural Heritage Systems Study

Appendix C - DRAFT Source Protection Plan

Please click heading to open the full post. From there you will be able to click the button to view the Elgin Natural Heritage Interactive Map. Use this map to review the proposed changes to the Natural Heritage System. Use address search or find my location tool to find the desired property. Once zoomed on the subject site, use the swipe tool to compare the changes between 2018 and 2013 Natural Heritage.

As part of the adoption of the 2013 Official Plan for the County of Elgin, a policy was added (D1.2.4) which states…”It is a policy of this Plan that the establishment of a natural heritage system be considered at the time of the next Official Plan Review.” There was a commitment to completing a Natural Heritage Systems Study at the time of the next Official Plan Review. The Elgin Natural Heritage Systems Study (ENHSS) was commissioned in 2016, and is a terrestrial science-based study that provides a landscape level assessment of existing natural heritage features and functions. The draft 2019 study provides analysis and maps showing the existing vegetation patches that meet criteria for ecological importance.

The Clean Water Act, 2006 was approved by the province as a result of the contaminated water tragedy in Walkerton Ontario in 2000. Source Protection Plans were developed across the province and include policies to protect municipal drinking water supplies from land uses that may be a risk to them. A firm was retained to assist the County in the implementation of Source Protection Plan (SPP) policies through the preparation of new policy text that would form the basis of future amendments to the County Official Plan and to the Official Plans and Zoning By-laws of local municipalities that have municipal drinking water systems that are regulated by a Source Protection Plan.

As per Council’s direction, the public will have an opportunity to review the draft Elgin Natural Heritage Systems Strategy (2019), and the Source Water Protection Implementation Plan (2017), and provide their feedback and input on the recommendations from these reports.

Review the documents linked above and tell us what you think in the comments!

When reviewing this document, questions to ask include:

• Why did the County of Elgin do a Natural Heritage Study when the Official Plan already has Natural Heritage policies?

• What Natural Heritage features and areas are included?

• How does this affect my property?

• Was my property affected before this update?

• What can be done with this new information?

The following Discussion Paper #2 on Provincial Policy Statement reviews the recent changes (2020) made to the Provincial Policy Statement (PPS) and its impact on the County's Official Plan. The PPS is a consolidated statement of the government’s policies on land use planning. It gives provincial policy direction on key land use planning issues that affect communities. Broad areas that will be reviewed include: climate change, Indigenous consultation, agriculture and on farm diversification, amongst others.

Watch the following video to learn more about the PPS changes and how it affects the County's Official Plan and provide your comments below.

As part of the County’s Official Plan 5-Year Review process, several key topics were identified. These identified topics warrant a larger review, including servicing and development within the County of Elgin.

The following Discussion Paper #1 on Servicing and Development reviews the current Provincial policy framework, the current policies of the County of Elgin Official Plan, current policy within neighbouring municipalities, and provides policy options for development in Elgin County.

Watch the following video to learn more about servicing (water and sewer) and development in Elgin County and provide your comments below.