In Stormont, Dundas and…

In Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry, we have done exactly what the Province is seeking to do. We use only a County level Official Plan (no Secondary Plans), and control development through Zoning and Site Plan Control. Our Official Plan has built-in flexibility for development applications to proceed without the need for lengthy Official Plan Amendments. We took great pride in developing a short, concise plan, that has flexibility to adapt to different kinds of unique development proposals. Sadly, the proposed changes to Official Plans and required schedules will lengthen our Official Plan, making it more cumbersome, and less flexible. The mandated schedules are a bad idea. Allow municipalities the flexibility to include schedules that they deem important. Or make only the following schedules mandatory:

Standardized Schedules, Overlays and Data
A3 Land Use Designations
A4 Settlement Boundaries, Urban/Rural Structure, Provincial Plans (ORMCP, Greenbelt, NEP, etc.)
B1 Transportation & Corridors (Highways, Railways, Airports, etc.)
C1 Natural Heritage System
C2 Natural and Man-made Hazards
C3 Human-made Hazards (pits and quarries, mineral aggregate resource deposits)
C5 Water Resources (drinking water source protection areas, etc.)