South Huron Council briefs

A.J. Fred Darling Park photo.

By John Miner

Dog park designation unwanted

South Huron council is being asked to drop Darling Park from the list of potential sites for a dog park in Exeter.

In a letter to council, Rebecca Darling noted that the land was donated by her grandfather, Fred Darling, as green space for the community. The park on Pryde Boulevard, in the middle of a residential neighbourhood and without dedicated parking, is not an appropriate location for a dog park, Darling wrote.

South Huron residents have been invited by the municipality to participate in a survey on whether they are in favour or opposed to a dog park in Exeter. 10 locations, including Darling Park, have been identified as possible sites.

Outlook positive for adding crosswalk

South Huron municipal staff have been working to gain approval from the Ministry of Transportation for a crosswalk on Main Street in downtown Exeter.

CAO Rebekah Msuya-Collison said discussions are in the final stages and it is looking positive. Money for the crosswalk is in this year’s South Huron budget.

Council recently received a letter from Huron Apothecary Ltd. pharmacy manager Dan Marchioni urging that a crosswalk be located close to the downtown Exeter parkette, between John St. and James St. With the municipal parking lot located on the west side of Main Street and the apothecary on the east, many patients must either make a long walk down to the nearest crossing or embark on the risky endeavour of crossing a busy highway during peak traffic, he wrote.

Future urban lots could be a lot smaller

Senior planner Victor Kloeze and Denise Van Amersfoort, manager of planning, reported to council that the province is proposing a series of planning changes.

One regulation would allow the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing to set a minimum lot size on parcels of urban residential land outside of the Greenbelt Area. The proposal is for a

minimum lot size of 175 square metres. That compares to the current minimum lot size in South Huron of 450 square metres for an interior lot or 540 square metres for a corner lot under South Huron’s proposed updated zoning bylaw.

A municipality would not be able to deny a lot creation of 175 square metres under the proposed provincial regulation even if it did not conform to the municipality’s minimum area, frontage or depth requirements.

Fire department handled 40 emergency calls

In the first three months of 2026, the South Huron and Lambton Shores fire departments handled 40 emergency calls in South Huron.

One call was for a structure fire and another for a vehicle fire, while eight calls were for motor vehicle crashes and eight for medical assists. There were seven calls in response to commercial alarms, three for residential alarms, three for gas leaks, two for carbon monoxide incidents and one for a power line. Six calls were for other perceived emergencies.

The Exeter station handled 28 of the calls, Dashwood handled eight and Grand Bend four.

$100,000 allocated for Huron Park community park

South Huron council voted to allocate $100,000 from its parkland reserve fund to the Huron Park Subdivision Community Park.

Proposed initiatives for the community park include large shade trees and accessible amenities, such as a paved pathway and an accessible parking area. Money for the parkland reserve fund comes from planning fees.

Under provincial legislation, a municipality is required to allocate at least 60 per cent of the money in the reserve fund each year. At the start of the year, South Huron’s fund had a balance of $165,513. Last year parkland reserve funds were used for the Port Blake revitalization project and the Victoria Street East playground equipment replacement and relocation project.