Innisfil planners say a decision in the province’s appeal of the town’s Official Plan means most of the land-use mapping in the plan is now in effect.
On Aug. 17, the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT) issued a decision on an appeal by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing (MMAH) of parts of the Town of Innisfil’s Official Plan.
The town adopted its current Official Plan in 2018, which was approved by the County of Simcoe, with modifications. Several appeals of the plan followed, including one by the MMAH.
The MMAH was appealing Schedule B of the Official Plan, which shows land-use designations outside of settlement areas in town, Schedule BB, which maps the agriculture land base in town, and two sections of the plan’s general countryside policies.
According to the town, the MMAH withdrew a large part of its appeal on May 1, 2020.
The re-scoping of the appeal affected the status of several other Official Plan appeals, some party to the MMAH appeal and some separate.
According to LPAT, the remaining appeals of the Official Plan will proceed with written hearings.
The tribunal ordered that the appeal by the MMAH be allowed in part, modifying two sections of the Official Plan’s general countryside policies and approving land-use designation changes in the town’s Official Plan.
“The province had appealed the land-use designation map in our Official Plan because of differences between our local and provincial land-use mapping,” said town spokesperson Johnny Keogh.
He said the LPAT decision is the formal approval of changes to the town's mapping and policy wording that have been agreed to between the province, the town and the county.
“The result is that most mapping in the town's new Official Plan is now in effect.”
For more information about the town’s Official Plan, visit innisfil.ca/planning-services/ourplace/status.
Shane MacDonald, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Barrie Advance
