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Home My WebLink AboutPD-165-93 THE CORPORATION OF THE MUNICIPALITY OF CLARINGTON DN: PUB-INF.GPA rlF� ° Meeting General Purpose and Administration Committee File 11 `YCRCR___ Date Monday, December 6, 1993 By-Law / - -- Rcport 9 ®®p_g_165_gJ=i1e # --PLN--32 4 S )ject STAGE TWO PUBLIC INFORMATION CENTRES FILE: PLN 32 .4 r4 C,oiY1ntendafl( ns- It is respectfully recommended that the General Purpose and Administration Committee recommend to Council the following: 1. THAT Report PD- 165-93 be received for information. 1. BACKGROUND The second stage of the Municipality of Clarington Official Plan Review Process - Planning Issues and Options - was completed in November 1993 . Stage Two was undertaken to analyze various planning options, as well as, to formulate draft goals and objectives of the Official Plan. The Discussion Paper was organized into four sections: • Part One - Becoming a Sustainable Community • Part Two - Urban Areas • Part Three - Rural Areas • Part Four - Draft Goals and Objectives 2 . PUBLIC INFORMATION CENTRES Four Public Information Centres were scheduled between November 1st and 4th to present material from the second phase. The Public Information Centres were held at the following locations: Nov. 1 - Newcastle Village Community Hall (3 : 00 p.m. - 9 : 00 p.m. ) Nov. 2 - Orono Arena and Community Centre (3 : 00 p.m. - 9 : 00 p.m. ) Nov. 3 - Bowmanville Recreation Complex (3 : 00 p.m. - 9: 00 p.m. ) Nov. 4 - Dr. Emily Stowe (Courtice) (4 : 00 p.m. - 9 : 00 p.m. ) nu.,`fno uuc irr< nininn r¢ REPORT NO. : PD-165 -93 PAGE 2 3 . PUBLIC NOTIFICATION Residents of the Municipality of Clarington were informed of the Public Information Centres by two methods. • Newsletter All residents who were on the mailing list received a copy of the October newsletter which reviewed the findings of the second phase and announced the time and location of the various Public Information Centres. • Advertising Notices for the Public Information Centres were placed in all local newspapers on October 20 and 27, 1993 . 4 . FORMAT Each Information Centre was arranged in an informal walk-through format, although Staff were on hand to answer questions. Thirty (30) panels displayed information on a number of areas. • Introductory panels described what an official plan is and why it is necessary to review it. • Results of the Public Attitude Survey were presented on two panels. • Three themes of the Official Plan Review which included becoming a sustainable community, management of growth, and quality of life were discussed in several panels. • A number of panels presented planning issues and options related to the: natural environment; heritage preservation; housing; industrial and economic development; central areas and commercial uses; parks and recreational facilities; transportation; sewers, water and utility services; rural residential; and rural economy. • Draft goals and objectives were presented on one panel. 517 REPORT NO. : PD- 165-93 PAGE 3 • The closing panel discussed future stages of the Official Plan and stated how residents could participate in the Official Plan Review. Two videos were shown continuously presenting current planning issues and they included: 1. CBC Journal, "Back to the Future: Neo-traditional Urban Planning" 2 . Metropolitan Toronto Planning Department, "The Race is On - Housing Intensification" 5. ATTENDANCE Members of the public were encouraged to register as they entered the Information Centre. Attendance was not as good as in Phase One. Last year approximately five hundred citizens attended the Phase One Information Centres, while only 137 attended the Phase Two Information Centres. The attendance figures for this year's Information Centres are noted below: • Newcastle Village 19 • Orono 22 • Bowmanville 50 • Courtice 46 137 The higher attendance figures of last year can be attributed to the fact that every household in Clarington received the Public Attitude Survey which not only asked residents about their opinions on various planning matters, but, also informed residents of the upcoming Information Centres. Nevertheless, even attendance by approximately 137 persons is good relative to the experience of other municipalities conducting Official Plan Reviews. Staff will reconsider alternative forms of Public Notice for subsequent phases of the Official Plan Review to ensure public awareness and higher attendance. 6. PUBLIC COMMENTS At the Open Houses staff made note of verbal comments or points of discussion made by residents. Both written and verbal comments are summarized below. 5 /6 REPORT NO. : PD-165 -93 PAGE 4 Landfill Concerns • Clarington should have specific policies regarding landfills, especially Laidlaw. • The IWA candidate site is a very poor site because a number of tributaries flow through the site to Lake Ontario and, in addition, Clarke's Summit Swamp is too close to the site. Development Concerns • Resident wanted to know why Newtonville has not developed. • Resident is against strip development including residential strip development. • Residential development should have more controls. • The development process is too costly and too bureaucratic in this Municipality. • Resident does not like alleys behind houses because of potential security problems. • Design policies should include compatible land uses (i.e. , existing singles should back onto singles, not townhouses) . • Tree preservation plans should be developed prior to planning subdivisions. • Restrict the size of rural homes in order to limit the number of water-consuming devices (e.g. , bathrooms) . • Restrict lot grading and vegetation removal for rural homes. • A grid system and healthy downtowns are favoured. • Maple Grove residents want sidewalks and street lights. • Could plant blackberry and other thorny bushes around stormwater management ponds and rail corridors instead of fences. • Should promote the use of natural gas in homes especially in newer homes. • Some residents are concerned about legal non-conforming uses and the environmental concerns associated with them (e.g. , scrap yards) . • Development in Courtice is always being compromised in favour of development in Bowmanville (e.g. , old arena lands in REPORT NO. : PD- 165-93 PAGE 5 Bowmanville are being developed, but, Courtice still does not have a Recreation Centre) . • Resident would like to see an even ratio of growth in Bowmanville and Courtice so as to allow Courtice to achieve the same level of servicing, etc. , at Bowmanville. Natural Environment Concerns • Natural environment (e.g. , creeks, Oak Ridges Moraine and Lake Iroquois Shoreline) should be protected and preserved for active and passive recreational uses. • Stalker Creek should be shown as a permanent creek eastward to the alignment of Arthur Street. • One resident objects to the designation of the Bond Head Bluffs ANSI which runs along the waterfront portion of her property. • Residents are concerned that there are not enough parks and trails and that the accessibility to the waterfront is not adequate. • Bondhead parkette should be expanded and the beach area should be cleaned up. • A resident noted that there appears to be a jurisdictional deadlock concerning the preservation of headwater areas. • The Oak Ridges Moraine Study is missing critical information for the Ganaraska headwaters since an environmentally sensitive areas study has not been completed. Agricultural Concerns • Preservation of the agricultural lands is a good idea. • Several farmers noted that farming is no longer a viable way of making a living, particularly if the farms are small or medium sized. Consequently, some farmers believe that they should be able to develop their lands rather than letting the lands lie idle. They feel that Clarington's land use policies are too strict. 580 REPORT NO. : PD-165 -93 PAGE 6 Government Administrative Concerns • Public participation is needed and should be increased. Resident did not like the public participation process and information sessions for the GO extension and the Highway 407 connecting link. • Government agencies should not be able to determine what takes place on private property. • Some residents stated that they were concerned that the various planning options would make the taxes increase. • The population projections are too high for the Municipality and the amount of lands designated within the Urban Area boundary are not sufficient to accommodate the projected population. • Residents support the idea of a "user-friendly" Official Plan which would be understandable to the lay person. • Operate Municipality like a regular business and thus when an applicant submits an application, he or she should be charged for Staff time. • New residents should be made aware of the high taxes to be paid and the lack of employment opportunities is the area. • The tourism potential in Clarington is untapped. The waterfront potential is similar to Cobourg and Port Hope. • The visitors information centre could be made more inviting. The new sign is an improvement, but, the centre still needs more work. 7 . SUMMARY The Phase Two Open Houses attracted a modest attendance and attempted to engage residents in the philosophical basis for a new Official Plan. Additional comments from residents, groups and agencies are anticipated through the circulation of the documents. At such time, staff will prepare a comprehensive report on all comments received on the Stage Two Report. IJ REPORT NO. : PD-i6-5 -93 PAGE 7 Respectfully submitted, Recommended for presentation to the Committee f% 4- e Franklin Wu, M.C. I.P. Marie Marano, Acting Director of Planning Chief Administrative Officer and Development TH*DC*FW*df 16 November 1993 Interested parties to be notified of Council and Committee's decision: 582