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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPSD-043-03 ~ \-.'- , Cl~#]gron REPORT PLANNING SERVICES Meeting: GENERAL PURPOSE AND ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE Date: Tuesday, April 22, 2003 Ecb Gf/I-/ffJ-03 By-law #: Report #: PSD-043-03 File #: PLN 17.8.11 Subject: OAK RIDGES MORAINE CONSERVATION PLAN CONFORMITY AMENDMENT STATUS REPORT RECOMMENDA nONS: It is respectfully recommended that the General Purpose and Administration Committee recommend to Council the following: 1. THAT Report PSD-043-03 be received for information. 2. THAT the Regional Municipality of Durham Planning Department, Central Lake Ontario Conservation Authority and Ganaraska Region Conservation Authority be forwarded a copy of the report and advised of Council's decision. 3. THAT all interested parties be advised of Council's decision. Submitted by: Reviewed by: 0 ~ ~ Franklin Wu Chief Administrative Officer Dav' . Cra e, M.C.I.P.,R.P.P. Direc or, Planning Services CP*DJC*df 15 April 2003 CORPORATION OF THE MUNICIPALITY OF CLARINGTON 40 TEMPERANCE STREET, BOWMANVILLE, ONTARIO L 1 C 3A6 T (905)623- 3379 F (905)623-0830 632 ~- '-- ... REPORT NO.: PSD-043-03 PAGE 2 1.0 BACKGROUND 1.1 The Province, in recognizing the Oak Ridges Moraine's significant environmental, geological and hydrogeological features, passed the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Act. This legislation provides for the establishment of the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan (ORMCP). On April 22, 2002, Ontario Regulation 140102 being the ORMCP was passed, retroactive to November 16th, 2001. 1.2 The ORMCP establishes the policy framework for protecting the moraine. All municipal official plans and zoning by-laws are required to conform to the ORMCP. The Province has legislated the timeframe by which the conformity exercise shall be complete. All upper-tier municipalities shall adopt their official plan amendments by April 22, 2003. All lower-tier municipalities shall adopt their conformity amendments, to both the Official Plan and Zoning By-law, by October 22, 2003. A report containing comments on the proposed Region of Durham official plan amendment was considered by Council on March 31, 2003. 1.3 The purpose of the Official Plan Amendment and the Zoning By-law Amendment is to integrate the content of the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan into Clarington's planning documents, ensuring planning decisions comply with the ORMCP. In accordance with the legislation, the Official Plan Amendment and Zoning By-law Amendment are to be approved by the Minister. The Minister's decision is final and cannot be appealed to the OMB if the amendments are approved within the specified timeframe. 2.0 APPROACH 2.1 The preparation of the required Official Plan Amendment and Zoning By-law Amendments is a significant undertaking. Although all the local municipalities within Durham Region, impacted by the ORMCP, have elected to retain a consultant to assist them in the preparation of these two documents. Planning 633 REPORT NO.: PSO-Q43-Q3 PAGE 3 Staff have reviewed this issue carefully, and have decided to undertake the task in-house. 2.2 Staff have carefully reviewed the provincially legislated document to understand its implications. Rather than prepare a stand-alone, Secondary Plan document for the ORM, an approach adopted by other local area municipalities, staff prefer to incorporate the required policies within the existing structure of the Clarington Official Plan. In consideration of existing policies and format, staff believe this will provide a more user-friendly document for the public, Council and staff. However, the implementing zoning amendment will be a stand-alone document, specific to the area of the ORM. In reality, it will be the first step towards implementation of the New Zoning By-law. The required Zoning By-law for the ORM will follow the format used for the draft Zoning By-law for the Urban Areas. This approach will provide greater ease of transition to a new Zoning By-law in the future. 2.3 A parallel Official Plan Amendment is required for the lands currently designated Oak Ridges Moraine in the Clarington Official Plan, but not included in the Province's elevation-based boundary (245 m contour). 2.4 Public consultation for the ORM Conformity Amendments will consist of the following: . Municipal Web Site Material on the ORMCP and the Municipal Conformity Amendment will be posted on the web site. This will include a frequently asked questions section. . Public Open Houses Two public open houses will be held in June in separate locations, on separate nights, to advise residents of the ORMCP and the Municipality's conformity process. . Statutory Public Meeting 634 .... .. REPORT NO.: PSD-043-03 PAGE 4 Prior to adoption, a statutory public meeting will be held on both the official plan and zoning by-law amendment. Given the anticipated level of interest, this will likely be a special meeting of General Purpose and Administration Committee. Given the large geographic area affected by the conformity amendments, 17,665 ha, as well as lands which will deleted from the Oak Ridges Moraine designation in the Clarington Official Plan, 3650 ha, staff expect significant level of interest from land owners. 3.0 TIMING 3.1 The Province has set the timeframe legislating that lower-tier municipalities shall submit their amendments to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs no later than October 22, 2003. If the amendments are not submitted by this date, the Municipality forfeits the Minister's ability to make a final decision, leaving the proposed conformity amendments open to possible appeal to the OMB. The timeframe established to complete the conformity exercise is very aggressive, especially in consideration of the existing staff workload and the work remaining to complete the conformity exercise. Staff will work diligently to meet the schedule although there are concerns about meeting the target date and dealing with the expected issues from the public. 4.0 CONCLUSION 4.1 Staff have been working hard to meet the legislated time frame for conformity with the ORMCP. In consideration of summer recess and other staff commitments, this remains a large undertaking with a limited time frame. Staff expect high level of interest from the many landowners within the area of the ORM, on the two documents that will have a large impact on future use of land within the moraine in Clarington. Staff will advise Council members when the draft documents are released and when Open Houses and Public Meetings will be scheduled. 635 - -~ , REPORT NO.: PSO-G43.Q3 PAGE 5 Interested parties to be notified of Council's decision: Alex Georgieff Commissioner of Planning Region of Durham Planning Department 1615 Dundas Street East Lang Tower, West Building 4th Floor, Whitby Mall Whitby, ON L1N 6A3 SAGA (Save the Ganaraska Again) clo Ms. Katherine Guselle 45 Connaught Street Oshawa, ON L 1 G 2H1 Linda Gasser 7421 Best Road P.O. Box 399 Orono, ON LOB 1 MO Libby Racansky 3200 Hancock Road Courtice, ON L 1 E 2M1 Sandy Cook and Ted Kilpatrick 8733 Leskard Road Orono, ON LOB 1 MO Irv Harrell 1414 Harmony Road North Oshawa, ON L 1 H 7K5 Kerry Meydam 3838 Trulls Road Courtice, ON L 1 E 2L3 ~. 636