Three years of planning and consultation has resulted in the creation of County of Essex’s new Official Plan.
At last Wednesday night’s meeting several members of the public, along with representatives from various developers and organizations spoke up about the new plan.
The biggest issue of support from them came from the fact that the county is committing to increasing the region’s natural heritage cover from the current nine to 15 per cent.
“I believe the final version of the plan has made very significant efforts to protecting and restoring the natural heritage system of the county,” said Dennis Sanson, owner of Sanson Estate Wineries in Amherstburg, he is the vice chair of the Essex County Land Stewardship Network.
“I appreciate the policies that serve the protection and enhance the natural heritage system of Essex County,” he added.
In the next three decades, Essex County is projected to see a large population growth that will require more jobs and more housing.
In her presentation to council, manager of planning Rebecca Belanger said that leading up to the new plan there was an open house, three county advisory groups were created and a lot of input from the public.
“The Official Plan lays the foundation for future land use and growth management including planning for housing, jobs, agriculture, environmental protection and climate resilience,” noted Belanger.
Belanger said that as far as housing is concerned, affordable housing is a top priority for the county.
“I can’t overstate the importance of jobs in each local community. Several of the municipalities require expansion of settlement areas to deliver job growth.”
And while the plan addresses those, as far as those who made presentations last week, it is all about preserving the natural heritage which will include urban tree canopies, wildlife corridors and working closely with landowners.
“How do we monitor that 15 per cent? How do we set that goal? I don’t want to revisit this in 10 years and realize we achieved nothing,” said LaSalle Mayor Crystal Meloche.
Meloche was told by the consultant that the county will be monitoring specific programs.
Over the last couple of months, there was public concern over natural heritage and most recently, complaints came forward that the county was not doing enough to ensure protection of lands.
However, according to Essex County CAO Sandra Zwiers, county council and administration listened and incorporated the public’s concerns into the revised plan.
“They might not have gotten everything they wanted, but there was certainly a feeling of openness and willingness to see other points of view. Government has not always been know for that,” said Warden Hilda MacDonald.
As part of the consultation and outreach the past several weeks, the county received a letter from Caldwell First Nation which acknowledged the county’s willingness to make reconciliation a top priority.
There was also positive feedback from Patricia McGorman and the Canada South Land Trust which has been advocating for continual protection of natural heritage.
Tim Byrne, CAO of the Essex Region Conservation Authority (ERCA) told county council on Wednesday that developers will now have a better understanding of where they can build and what the hazardous areas are when it comes to flood plain areas.
The next, and final step for the county’s new Official Plan which will be used up until 2051, is to receive approval from the province’s Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing.
Once that happens and the county’s plan is officially adopted, the seven local municipalities can then approve their own Official Plans.
Essex County’s new Official Plan commits to preserving natural heritage
By Fred Groves
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