Mayor questions official plan’s future vision

Jeff Helsdon, Editor

Tillsonburg Mayor Deb Gilvesy questioned if Oxford County’s Official Plan is working during a presentation made on current work to update the plan at last week’s council meeting.

County Senior Policy Planner Meghan House and Policy Planner Emily Sousa explained to council the work underway and sought input as part of the first stage of the update.

“In Oxford, we have one plan that serves as the official plan for the county and all eight lower-tier municipalities,” House said.

Although the official plan is a county document, it is based on policies outlined in the Provincial Policy Statement and other provincial legislation. The final plan is then approved by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing.

“An official plan is the main land use planning document which guides how growth should occur, how land is used, how development is coordinated with the provision of infrastructure and public services, and also helps us articulate and set up processes to protect the things that are important to the community: farmland, nature, water and cultural heritage,” House said.

Local zoning bylaws then put the official plan into action.

The current official plan was developed in 1995, but has been updated since then. The plan is based on an assumption of a county population of 200,000 over the next 20 to 30 years, including 30,000 in Tillsonburg.

County staff is currently in the first phase of the project, gathering input from the community and council members. The goal is to complete the plan in 2028.

Sousa said community input to date includes meeting with municipal staff and gathering community input through the Speak Up Oxford web page.

“The intent is to gather broad feedback from the community on what the plan should look like,” she said, adding input is being sought on what the county should look like in the future, what should be focused on, what should change and what should stay the same.

Coun. Kelly Spencer noted Oxford has grown so much and it’s daunting to think Tillsonburg will have 30,000 people in 30 years. She asked what staff suggest council members should be answering to soothe residents’ concerns about the growth.

Sousa answered that the growth projections are based on provincial numbers.

“It’s best to plan for those scenarios because we don’t know how that will turn out,” she said. “However, through this process we get to define how this might occur.”

Coun. Bob Parsons questioned if municipalities will have the opportunity to comment on other parts of the vision, such as sharing services to increase efficiency or border adjustments. He was told that wouldn’t occur in this exercise.

Gilvesy was clear about her vision for the future.

“My vision for Oxford County is to remain a rural community,” she said. “I have a vision for 20 to 30 years, and we need to stop what we’re doing. I don’t think the official plan works in its capacity. I don’t think roads are wide enough; I know parking is local. I would want to see a zoning change that would intensify or densify what we’re already seeing in our communities.”

She commented on the suggestion to mix residential and commercial uses in the same area, saying residents don’t want to see increased traffic. Gilvesy questioned how official plans are tested to see if they are working.

“When you look at paper versus reality, and then drive in a subdivision, you can see the plan didn’t work,” she said. “The plan failed. When we move forward, we need to create a plan that isn’t going to create more problems in our communities.”

House said these were valid concerns and noted it will be an exercise to see whether mixing commercial and residential work in rural communities is feasible.

“If it doesn’t work, we have additional tools like official plan amendments,” she added.

House said the plan has generally worked since 1995, with some updates.

The presentation was received as information by council.