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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPSD-117-03 r.,:. J1!,-~ .~ c.,J . . .. ClfJIigglOn REPORT PLANNING SERVICES Meeting: Date: Report #: GENERAL PURPOSE AND ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE GflPr- 3"11-03 September 22, 2003 PSD-117-03 File #: COPA 2003-007 By-law #: COPA 2003-008 and ZBA 2003-034 Subject: OAK RIDGES MORAINE OFFICIAL PLAN AND ZONING BY-LAW CONFORMITY AMENDMENT - EXTENSION REQUEST MUNICIPALITY OF CLARINGTON RECOMMENDATIONS: It is respectfully recommended that the General Purpose and Administration Committee recommend to Council the following: 1. THAT Report PSD-117-03 be received: 2. THAT the Honourable Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing be requested to grant a 9 month extension under the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Act to the Municipality of Clarington to provide additional time to complete the necessary amendments to the Clarington Official Plan and the Zoning By-law; and 3. THAT the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing and the Durham Region Planning Department be forwarded a copy of this report. O~~, Submitted by: a' J, Crome, M.C.I.P., R.P.P. Reviewed by: Franklin Wu, Director of Planning Services Chief Administrative Officer HB*CP*DJC*sh September 17, 2003 CORPORATION OF THE MUNICIPALITY OF CLARINGTON 40 TEMPERANCE STREET, BOW MANVILLE, ONTARIO L 1C 3A6 T (905)623-3379 F (905)623-0830 S~4 -. ~.--, ~ .. '~ REPORT NO.: PSD-117.Q3 PAGE 2 ... 1.0 BACKGROUND 1.1 The Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Act requires that within 18 months of the filing of the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan (ORMCP), every prescribed municipality shall prepare and adopt the necessary amendments to their Official Plan and Zoning By- law to implement the ORMCP. The Municipality of Clarington, along with 26 other municipalities, is required to submit amendments to the Minister of Municipal Affairs by October 22, 2003. 2.0 DISCUSSION 2.1 Staff spent considerable time and effort on the ORMCP conformity amendments. This included a detailed review of the ORMCP understanding its implications, determining how the amendments should be structured, preparing the draft and final amendments. It also included consideration of amendments to the Region of Durham Official Plan, ensuring that the Clarington amendments will be in compliance with the Region of Durham Official Plan. Furthermore, a public consultation program was undertaken which included hosting 2 Public Information Centres, preparing 2 newsletters, and posting the amendments and newsletters on the Municipality's web site. 2.2 Staff chose to incorporate the policies of the ORMCP into the Official Plan, instead of adding a secondary plan, as many local municipalities are proposing to do. Although this has been a daunting task, staff believe that this will better serve the Municipality over the longer term providing a foundation for a consistent planning framework. Copies of the "consolidated policies", a document incorporating the changes required to the Official Plan, were sent to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs, the Region of Durham and the Conservation Authorities on May 30, 2003 for their comment. As of the writing of this report, comments have been received from the Conservation Authorities only. Staff continued to "fine tune" the draft policies through the summer, addressing the comments received from the public, the Conservation Authorities and municipal staff review. The revised document, including the draft official plan amendments was circulated to the Ministry, Region and Conservation Authorities on August 25, 2003. Comments have yet to be received from any of these agencies on these documents. 2.3 Staff are preparing the zoning changes in the context of a new Zoning By-law for Clarington. The Zoning By-law for the Oak Ridges Moraine will eventually expand to cover the entire Municipality. Zone districts and regulations must be interpreted precisely and it is important to be as accurate as possible. The draft Zoning By-law presented today through Report PSD-116-03, is a preliminary draft and still needs considerable fine-tuning prior to adoption. 515 - f.; . , . REPORT NO.: PSD.117-G3 PAGE 3 .' 2.4 Although we are in a position that we could finalize the Official Plan Amendments shortly, the work on the zoning lags considerably. It would be desirable to process both documents simultaneously so that any issues arising in the zoning review can be addressed in both documents. It is also desirable to receive and review the comments of the Region and the Ministry prior to adopting the Official Plan. 2.5 It is noted that the commencement of the Oak Ridges conformity exercise by municipalities was delayed in the initial stages due to slower than expected dissemination of information from the Province. 2.6 Most other municipalities are in a similar or worse position and the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing has recognized that zoning issues are taking longer to address. Under Section 9(6) and 9(10) of the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Act, the Minister may make a written declaration to grant an extension of time. Ministry staff indicate that 6 to 9 month extensions on the conformity exercise will be granted upon request. All other local municipalities in Durham Region affected by ORMCP are requesting extensions. It is noted that last April, the Region previously made this request on behalf of the Durham area municipalities, 3.0 CONCLUSION 3.1 It is recommended that the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing be requested to grant the Municipality of Clarington a nine (9) month extension to adopt the necessary changes to the Clarington Official Plan and to pass a Zoning By-law in conformity with the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan, Interested parties to be advised of Council's decision: The Honourable David Young, Minister Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing 777 Bay Street, 17th Floor Toronto, Ontario M5G 2E5 Rizaldo Padilla Planning Advisor, Durham Region Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing 777 Bay Street, 17th Floor Toronto, Ontario M5G 2E5 Alex Georgieff, Region of Durham Planning Department 1615 Dundas Street East Lang Tower, West Building 4th Floor, Whitby Mall Whitby, Ontario L 1 N 6A3 516