Perth County Council recently approved the county's Strategic Plan earlier this month.
Moira Davidson, Senior Policy Planner for the county, says the plan sets out a number of goals and guidelines for the county to follow in the coming years. She adds the plan provides direction and focus for the County’s long-term land use, growth, and development plans.
"The goals for the Official Plan were established through reflection of provincial policy and refined based on community input. To name a few, some of the goals of the Official Plan include: preserving and protecting the County’s excellent agricultural land base; directing housing growth to the County’s urban areas; promoting development that is well-designed, accessible, and safe; and encouraging the development of a wide variety of housing options for current and future residents," Davidson outlined.
With housing and growth being a key factor for the area, Davidson notes there are things the plan outlines in terms of trying to create more housing and managing the growth of local communities.
"The supporting background studies undertaken as part of the Official Plan Review confirmed that the projected populated growth will lead to a steady increase in demand for higher-density forms of housing. To meet this identified need, the County Official Plan directs growth to locate in the County’s urban areas and encourages intensification and infill development within these areas through a minimum residential density target of 15 units per hectare for new residential areas," Davidson detailed. "In alignment with provincial policy, the Official Plan also permits increased residential densities across the County. Medium-density housing forms are permitted across all neighbourhood designations within the County and up to 3 residential units are permitted on any lot within settlement areas or the agricultural system through the Official Plan’s Additional Residential Units policies. The Official Plan does consider some more unique policies to create more housing, such as encouraging new development to provide purchasers with design options for additional residential units and prioritizing under-utilized municipally-owned land for the development of non-market housing."
In terms of local assets and infrastructure, the plan outlines more guidelines and strategies for maintaining and enhancing existing assets, as well as goals for any newly developed infrastructure, as well.
"Most of the infrastructure within Perth County is managed at the local level, however, the Official Plan does provide guiding policies for the maintenance and enhancement of the infrastructure system. Overall, the policies of the Official Plan strive to ensure the efficient and cost-effective co-ordination between growth management and infrastructure to ensure both are financially viable over their life cycle and meet current and projected needs," said Davidson. "Before considering new infrastructure, the Official Plan encourages existing infrastructure to be optimized and opportunities for adaptive reuse be considered. If new infrastructure is required, the Official Plan encourages a collaborative and coordinated approach between the County and it’s local municipalities, as well as with conservation authorities, school boards, and other agencies, to co-locate assets, such as a new park or a school, for future residents. The co-location of future assets aims to accommodate services and assets needed for growth in a fiscally and environmentally responsible manner."
There are a number of other key points in the plan that Davidson and Perth County Council want people to be aware of, specifically when it comes to protecting agricultural land in the area.
"As mentioned in the goals of the Official Plan, the 2024 Official Plan supports the protection of prime agricultural land for the long term and establishes policies supporting a continuum of agricultural and agricultural-related uses within the County’s Agricultural system. The creation of policies permitting on-site farm labour accommodation is included within the Official Plan to preserve the viability of the County’s agricultural community," Davidson shared. "The 2024 OP also identifies and the potential for land use conflict within Settlement Areas and the Agricultural System. To mitigate potential land use conflicts, the 2024 OP recognizes the existing MDS setback of farms adjacent to settlement areas as compliant and also requires the registration of a nuisance clause on title for expansion lands to recognize normal farm practices. The 2024 OP also clarifies that Agricultural operations can continue on lands within or adjacent to lands designated Natural Environment, as permitted in the 2024 PPS."
A copy of the 2024 County Official Plan, together with supporting studies and background information, is available at perthcounty.ca/NewOP.