While Simcoe County and Aware Simcoe wage a war of words over growth in Midhurst, landowners there are following up on an Ontario Municipal Board decision that reiterates both the county and Springwater Township’s view that it’s a good way to grow.
Last week, the county announced it had reached a settlement with the Midhurst Landowners Group to use 3,000 of a special 20,000 population allocation to allow two Midhurst developments to proceed -- neighbourhoods in the Snow Valley Road/Wilson Road and Anne Street/Carson Road areas.
The 3,000, however, is half of what the developers had requested under the allocation that does not reduce any other municipality’s future population limit.
The agreement averts what could have been a lengthy hearing that was to start this week, said Simcoe County Warden Gerry Marshall.
“County council made a very measured decision on all of the considerations of this complicated matter and this agreement really will be a win for the county, the landowners, the Township of Springwater and in particular for the Midhurst community,” said Marshall, who added it averts what could have been an expensive hearing that would have be quite costly for taxpayers – at the county level, the township level and even the provincial level.
In preparing for an OMB hearing scheduled to start this week, the Midhurst Landowners Group met repeatedly with county planners to resolve the issue that emerged after a May county decision to hit the pause button on growth in Midhurst.
“This is not an unusual process. We do this all the time – try to resolve matters to reduce the number of items to be settled during a hearing and reduce the length of the hearing,” said Midhurst Landowners Group spokesman Cheryl Shindruk, Geranium Corporation’s executive vice-president.
The OMB encourages such discussions to expedite planning as well as save taxpayers money, she added.
Throughout the discussions, the OMB never heard that the Midhurst Secondary Plan – approved by Springwater in 2008 and then by Simcoe County in 2011 – was bad planning. Rather, it heard that it followed provincial planning policies that are designed to contain development to settlement areas, she said.
As well as granting developers half of what they asked for, the agreement sets guidelines for the location and pace of growth.
Springwater, however, called the deal a betrayal, as it overturns decisions made in a special county hearing in May that denied all but a very small application that would add 15 people to Midhurst.
“Frankly, the township feels a profound sense of betrayal,” Springwater Mayor Bill French said.
“We certainly never expected the county would turn its back on the township and make a deal with the developers behind closed doors and force additional population on the township.”
Shindruk explained that the province has strict rules regarding how the county can use the 20,000 population allocation, which must be used by January 2017 or be lost. The settlement shows the developers had followed the policies and criteria, Shindruk added.
After the rejection in May, the developers began preparing to have the OMB rule on the issue.
“Once it was clear this was going to the board, people start to wake up and say it shouldn’t be a pure political decision. It’s a planning process,” she said. “Planning principles had been ignored.”
Both Geranium and Rose Alliance have continued working on the environmental approvals.
“Staff are getting ready to have the final Public Information Centre and once that’s done, we’ll begin work to service the lands (with water and sewer),” she said.
“The science is the science. We’re confident in its rigorous and fullness, completeness and soundness,” she said, although the assessment could be bumped up to the environment minister for review. That delay could set back servicing design and work by six months.
“At the end of the day, the board in its ruling came to the conclusion (the population decision) is at the sole discretion of the county. There were criteria, credible criteria.
