Perth County hosts open house on new official plan

Perth County is one step closer to its new official plan after residents gathered Monday morning at a Milverton open house to hear a presentation from its planners.

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With this major planning document, the county aims to set the course for development plans until 2048.

One significant revision in the plan, attendees at the Perth East Recreation Complex open house heard, would require new housing developments of more than two hectares to include a 30 per cent minimum of units that are not single or semi-detached homes. The updated plan would also encourage new developments to include affordable housing, with a goal of having 20 per cent of new developments in the county’s serviced urban areas offer some sort of affordable market housing.

Moira Davidson, the senior policy planner with the county who presented at the open house, said these changes will not discourage developers from building in the county, noting staff has already had discussions with these companies about the proposed requirements.

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“They are equally understanding of the affordability crisis that we have and are already considering different types of development other than singles and seeds,” she said, “so it’s something that they are on board with for those that we have discussed it with.”

Not everyone who attended Monday’s meeting was on board with the plan, however. One resident, Peter Blom, said the plan will designate two sections of his property near border of Perth and Middlesex counties as environmentally protected.

“I am concerned that they are taking away our right to use our land the way we wish to use it,” Blom said.

Blom said he had replanted a number of trees on this property, which he would be prohibited from removing if the land is designated as protected.

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“That’s why I’m here and it kind of ticks me off. . . . and I feel that it’s like a piece of corn. If a farmer plants corn, they can cut it down. If I plant the tree, why can’t I cut it down? (It’s) is a simple question,” Blom said.

Nathan Garland, another planner at the meeting, said other policies, such as those outlining zoning designations, apply more directly to specific properties than the official plan.

The county’s last official plan was authored more than 25 years ago is no longer in line with provincial policy direction, particularly the 2020 provincial policy statement. According to Davidson, this provincial direction is the biggest change between the new plan and its predecessor.

These changes, she noted, include “permission for surplus farm dwelling severing” and emphasize the intensification and diversification of residential uses and settlement areas “so that we’re appropriately balancing agriculture and housing.”

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The revised official plan has been in the works since 2018, but the pandemic and recent population growth meant both delays and changes to the plan, Davidson said. Municipal officials are anticipating Perth County’s population to grow to more than 60,000 people by 2051.

“We were limited in our ability to go out and survey different areas of the county to do the natural heritage study. . . . Because there was such an influx of population over COVID, (the study) actually needed to be revised to appropriately address the new growth that was anticipated,” she said.

A draft of the plan can be found on the county website. The county is seeking feedback on the plan until Aug. 30. Those who wish to comment can phone 519-271-0531 ext. 419 gold email [email protected]. The final draft plan will be published in September and a public meeting will be held in October at the same time as it presented to council.

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