In October 2017, Council passed a motion to join Peterborough County in the development of our Official Plan (OP).
Since then, township staff have been participating in the process of creating a new OP that conforms to new provincial planning guidelines to meet the July 1st, 2022 deadline.
Council was asked to confirm this decision last week, as the opportunity to opt out of this commitment is disappearing quickly.
Whether Cavan-Monaghan opts in our out, Peterborough County retains a great deal of influence over our planning process as the approval authority for OP content such as amendments. Legal advice obtained by the township suggested that under the new regulations, should the municipality “opt in” to the County, the township would become a stakeholder rather than an approval authority with respect to our OP. Theoretically the township would have input into any decision that has local impact, but if the township disagrees with the conclusion, they would have to appeal it. In addition, the legal opinion suggested that while a decision to opt in to the County OP would not be legally permanent, practically speaking, unravelling the two documents in the future might be extremely difficult.
Conversely should the township opt out, it continues to be the decision maker of “first instance” for any applications for OP amendments going forward. Retaining a higher degree of local influence improves the ability to prioritize local concerns and improves the access of residents to participate in planning decisions.
Council decided to retain some local autonomy in the creation of our OP. KG
