Draft Wellesley official plan released for public feedback

By Galen Simmons

Wellesley Township council has received a first draft of the municipality’s new official plan, a key policy document that will guide how the township grows and develops through 2051.

Planning consultant Joe Nethery of Nethery Planning presented the draft plan at the April 7 council meeting, marking the beginning of the next phase of public engagement before the document returns to council for adoption later this year.

“This marks the public release of the draft new official plan for the Township of Wellesley,” Nethery said. “I will be talking about the engagement plan (for) the next couple of months where people will be hearing a very similar message many, many times as we get ready to gather more input and come back before you for a statutory public meeting in about three months time.”

The new official plan consolidates the township’s existing 2015 official plan with relevant policies from the former regional official plan, reflecting recent provincial legislative changes that shifted planning authority from upper-tier municipalities like Waterloo Region to lower-tier municipalities such as Wellesley.

The official plan serves as the township’s primary land-use policy framework, guiding decisions related to housing, employment lands, agriculture, infrastructure, environmental protection and community design.

The draft plan incorporates recommendations from six background discussion papers previously reviewed by council covering topics such as residential growth and intensification, employment lands, commercial needs, settlement-area boundary expansion criteria, secondary planning for designated growth areas and land-use policy review.

“We are looking to establish a density target; this goes above and beyond provincial planning, consistent with township practices and regional practices before,” Nethery said. “The target being proposed is 50 residents and jobs combined per hectare – that’s taken as a gross measurement overall – inclusive of community infrastructure and physical services that are needed as well.”

Before receiving the presentation for information, councillors sought clarification about protections carried forward from the regional official plan, particularly regarding the Regional Recharge Area and the Countryside Line. Township staff confirmed existing protections will remain in place in the new plan and no urban expansion has been proposed within the Regional Recharge Area or beyond the Countryside Line.

The draft official plan continues to emphasize the importance of protecting prime agricultural lands and maintaining the township’s rural character while planning for modest population and employment growth over the coming decades.

Planning projections anticipate growth to approximately 14,000 residents and roughly 6,700 jobs by 2051, requiring careful consideration of where new housing and employment opportunities should be located.

According to Nethery’s presentation, the township currently has about 49.9 hectares of vacant land within existing settlement boundaries, including 23.6 hectares within the Village of Wellesley and additional lands within rural settlement areas.

Based on background studies, the township is expected to require additional residential and employment lands to meet projected demand, including land needed to support job growth targets and a mix of housing types.

The draft plan also includes policies intended to support complete communities through a range of housing options, including additional residential units, modest intensification within built-up areas and opportunities for small-scale redevelopment.

Other policy areas addressed in the draft plan include environmental protection through a strengthened greenlands network, watershed planning and protection of natural heritage features, as well as policies supporting agribusiness, agri-tourism and on-farm diversified uses.

As part of the process, the township has evaluated a number of requests to expand settlement-area boundaries. A total of 18 requests were reviewed using criteria established through earlier background work, with some identified as supportable, some requiring additional information and others not recommended for inclusion in the draft plan.

“There is one fairly big expansion request that is being supported right now, and it is for employment lands in southwest Wellesley (west of the Village of Wellesley), and it has been supported through township policy for some time,” Nethery said.

More detailed analysis of those requests will be shared with council and the public as part of the ongoing engagement process.

With the draft plan now released, township staff and consultants are preparing for the next round of public engagement, which will include workshops, one-on-one discussions, a statutory open house and a statutory public meeting required under the Planning Act.

According to the project timeline outlined in the staff report, a public workshop and council workshop are expected in early May, followed by a statutory open house later in May and a statutory public meeting in mid-June.

Residents, agencies and other interested parties will have an opportunity to review the draft plan and provide feedback before a final version is brought forward for council consideration in early July.

Following adoption by council, the new official plan will be submitted to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing for approval. Once approved, the new document will replace both the existing township and regional official plans.

Information about the draft official plan and opportunities for input is available through the township’s Engage Wellesley project website.