Although council voted at their committee of the whole meeting on July 8 to not grant an eighth extension to the 17-year-old development application for the Bridgewater project, the Ontario Land Tribunal has since stepped in and granted the developer a three-year extension.
During their council meeting on July 22, Mayor Yvonne Hamlin expressed frustration with the Ontario Land Tribunal process on the file.
“I’m so disappointed that we didn’t have an opportunity to have our views heard at the Ontario Land Tribunal,” said Mayor Yvonne Hamlin. “I think it’s only prudent that we update the conditions.”
Conditions updated by town staff include improving engineering standards and studies.
As part of their committee of the whole meeting on July 8, councillors dealt with requests from three developers asking for an extension to their draft plan of subdivision approvals: Bridgewater at 11644 and 11700 Hwy. 26, Mair Mills Village/Panorama South at 260 Mountain Road and Linksview at 780 Tenth Line.
The Bridgewater on Georgian Bay development (previously named The Preserve at Georgian Bay) has been on the town’s books since 2007, originally receiving draft approval for 320 dwelling units on the 11664 Hwy. 26 property.
Consulate Developments revised the proposal in 2018 and applied for a zoning bylaw amendment to instead allow a mix of 655 apartment, single-detached dwellings, semi-detached dwellings, and back-to-back townhouse dwelling units, which was pushed ahead through an Ontario Land Tribunal ruling last year.
The project has been granted seven extensions to their draft plan of subdivision by the town over the past 17 years, with the latest taking that total to eight.
Out of the July 8 meeting, councillors gave preliminary approval to deny Bridgewater’s request, approve Panorama South’s, and refer Linksview’s back to staff for more information.
But when it came time to ratify those decisions at the council meeting on July 22, more information has come to light that essentially tied council’s hands.
On July 16, the town received a copy of an Ontario Land Tribunal order in writing. Bridgewater had applied for a three-year-extension through the OLT on May 27.
“The OLT provided an order to grant a three-year extension to Bridgewater without a hearing or any additional process,” explained the town’s planning director Summer Valentine in an interview with CollingwoodToday. “It was considered minor in nature, which means there’s no notification. We were not expecting a ruling this soon from the tribunal.”
“The question remaining for council today was, should we bring the conditions and draft plan approval up to current standards?” she said.
Draft plans of subdivision are typically reserved for large-scale developments that seek to develop entire neighbourhoods at once. These plans include an overall plan for the entire land parcel, as well as a future phasing plan.
On Monday, council voted unanimously in favour of approving the extension and updating the conditions of the draft plan of subdivision.
According to the Ontario Land Tribunal order, the draft plan of subdivision for the Bridgewater development has been extended to July 29, 2027. The decisions on Panorama and Linksview from committee of the whole were also ratified by unanimous votes.
