Council has dismissed its own policy with unusual disregard of the Official Plan
Administrator | Mar 06, 2025 | Comments 7
To the editor:
In July of 2021 Prince Edward County received final approval of its updated Official Plan: “An Official Plan describes policies on how land in the community should be used. It is prepared with input from the public and helps to ensure that planning and development meets the community’s needs now and in the future. The County’s Official Plan guides how the municipality will grow and develop over the next 25 years.”
Included in the principles that guide land use planning in the County is the following:
“The County will demonstrate environmental leadership by maintaining and enhancing the hydrological and hydrogeological functions of the Natural Heritage Systems and Features, the components of which are identified in this Plan and include natural heritage features and areas linked by natural corridors.”
Schedule B of the Plan identifies 11 Natural Core Area and linkages. The Natural Core Areas were designated based in existing Areas of Natural and Scientific Interest, provincially significant wetlands and documented use by species at risk.
Over the past month I have witnessed unusual disregard of the Official Plan recommendations and regulations by council.
Natural Core Areas have been dismissed as inconvenient designations. There has been no recognition by council of any knowledge of this important section of the Official Plan.
Council has been disrespectful to me and others when we try to bring the Natural Core Areas to their attention. Members of council have turned away, walked out of the room, taken time to chat to their neighbours as we give our three-minute comments. In other words, they have been amazingly impolite to the people that employ them.
I think it is time to remind council about the Official Plan Natural Core Area designations and how their recent precedent-setting decisions may have the unwanted consequences of large development proposals for Natural Core Areas throughout the County.
Cheryl Anderson
Picton
Filed Under: Letters and Opinion • News from Everywhere Else
I have no faith in the County Official Plan. It is not worth the paper it is written on. Let’s rename the Planning Department as “Let’s Make a Deal”. Come on down! (Or was that “The Price is Right”?)
My response to Mr. Canmore …Yes, it would appear so. And Yes, more residents need to step up and engage with Council.
All this is no surprise as Council has done it to Nicholas St, Cold Creek & other places as well. Have some on council sold their votes to the developers contrary to the County Code Of Conduct? Voters have to make more noise if this has any chance of being stopped.
I have said this before, why spend money year after year on developing a official plan that is ignored and cut up every time some one wants to change it for their own benefit and or greed.
Council has shown total disregardfor the official plan in many many developments. No transparency whatsoever. Remember elections are coming.
The disrespect that some Councillors have been showing to their constituents has been expanding to extend to other Councillors on what ought to be a Team.
Councillors would all do very well to review what Ontario Law says regarding the role of Council (Reference: https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/01m25#BK281):
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It is the role of council,
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(a) to represent the public and to consider the well-being and interests of the municipality;
(b) to develop and evaluate the policies and programs of the municipality;
(c) to determine which services the municipality provides;
(d) to ensure that administrative policies, practices and procedures and controllership policies, practices and procedures are in place to implement the decisions of council;
(d.1) to ensure the accountability and transparency of the operations of the municipality, including the activities of the senior management of the municipality;
(e) to maintain the financial integrity of the municipality; and
(f) to carry out the duties of council under this or any other Act. 2001, c. 25, s. 224; 2006, c. 32, Sched. A, s. 99.
On these aspects, there unfortunately is a small minority of Councillors who consistently aspire to, and work to, fulfill their role according to the law.
Increasingly, citizens are fed up with the major concerns that are either not being heard and/or not being acted upon, even as the County finances hurtle further and further into negative Net Worth territory with massive increases in Spending.
Citizens must act to push back against this, to get Council to “straighten up and fly right” and control Staff instead of the Staff, outside interests and Developers running the show.
Thank you Cheryl for putting up the fight. It is embarrassing that our Council cannot show respect for the Official Plan and those brave enough to defend Natural Core Areas.