Updates & Next Steps (Nov 4th)

Hi Everyone,

Now that we have all shared our opposition to the 31 Sand application, I wanted to share some next steps on what we can expect at a municipal level.

Application Review & Next Steps

• Under Ontario's Planning Act, the applicant can legally appeal to the OLT 120 days after their application is deemed complete. The developer's verbal indication of extending this date by 30 days is not legally binding.

  
  

• Planning staff are currently in the process of reviewing the application, getting peer reviews completed for submitted documents, etc. After this review, they will prepare a recommendation report.

  • No date has been set for the completion of the report

  • The content of this report is important because should the developer later appeal to the OLT, this report can potentially back up Council's decision.

    
    

• When the report from planning staff is complete:

  • Residents who have submitted written and oral comments on the file will be notified. 

  • The report will be publicly available.

  • Council will vote to either accept or reject the recommendation from the report.

  • The vote will happen at a council meeting that is publicly accessible and recorded.

    
    

Meanwhile, the town has updated the website for the 31 Sand Rd application with some FAQ:

https://www.eastgwillimbury.ca/en/government/31-sand-road-31-sand-gp-ltd.aspx

Heritage Registry Update

At this afternoon's council meeting:

• The heritage report on the log cabin was received by council

• Council passed a motion to officially add the log cabin to the Town's Heritage Registry

You may recall that Council previously passed a motion to this effect. However, as noted in today's motion, external legal counsel advised that there was a requirement for consultation with the Heritage Advisory Committee under the Ontario Heritage Act, which is why the topic was brought before council a second time today now that the committee's input has been received. It should be noted that while a great step forward, having the property on the heritage registry does not provide any additional protection from a legal standpoint.

Going Forward

As noted above, next steps at the municipal level lie with the recommendation from planning staff and Council's vote in favour of residents.

As such, it is within our best interest to remain laser focused on the near-term outcome for the 31 Sand Rd application, and to be respectful of both planning staff and all members of council.

In the event that Council votes to deny the application and it is appealed to the OLT, the OLT will focus on whether or not the application represents good planning. It will not consider municipal politics.

This is where a comprehensive report from planning staff supporting resident concerns is also in our best interest.

I will keep you updated with additional facts as I have them.

- Jenna