With building permits for new homes currently unavailable in the Town of Collingwood, council is getting regular updates from staff as they work toward lifting the current moratorium.
According to the town’s director of public works, engineering and environmental services, Peggy Slama, staff are hoping to post the request for proposals for the water treatment expansion project later this week.
Slama said staff just had to put the finishing touches on the bid documents, which will include the town’s request that the successful bidder install a new chlorine tank even before the work is complete to expand the existing plant.
On April 26, Collingwood council voted to implement an interim control bylaw, suspending the issuance of any new building permits because the water treatment plant was nearing capacity. Staff advised the capacity would be used up quickly if development continued at the same rate.
While projects that were granted building permits before April 26 will be allowed to build this year, no more building permits for new homes will be granted while the interim bylaw is in place.
For now, it’s supposed to last one year. It can be extended for another year, and it can also be lifted before the first year is up.
Collingwood senior staff have promised regular updates on work to increase water treatment capacity as well as planning underway to better manage the town’s building permit applications.
Town staff were already working toward a water treatment plant expansion for 2025, but reported to council the expansion wouldn’t be complete in time to meet the needs of the estimated development expected in Collingwood over the next four years.
The town of Collingwood provides treated drinking water to New Tecumseth and The Blue Mountains, so Slama said staff have been discussing the water supply with both towns to see if there’s a way for Collingwood to provide less water to outside municipalities.
As of last night, those talks are continuing but no final agreements have been reached.
Collingwood is also working out a contract with New Tecumseth to help pay for the water treatment plant expansion.
Director of planning, Adam Farr, told council his team has been talking with selected consultants to determine the scope of a planning policy study that will take place while the building permit moratorium is in place. The study is meant to improve town planning policies to include (among other things) stronger allocation formulas for water and wastewater servicing for new developments.
Building permits may still be issued for projects that would not include a new connection to the town’s water supply, such as renovations, decks, and etc.
Council has also asked staff to look into a list of exemptions after receiving several requests from local developers in various stages of their site plan applications. CAO Sonya Skinner promised those exemption recommendations were coming at a later meeting.
Slama confirmed the town’s water supply is still safe and available, with a little bit of capacity to accommodate some growth, but not enough to get the town to the 2025 expansion without intervention.
She said staff have received questions about how the water capacity situation will impact a potential new hospital and high school.
Slama said the information available about the potential new hospital indicates construction wouldn’t begin until 2025, at which time, the water plant capacity will be expanded. She said there’s little information about a potential new high school, but town staff would work to accommodate future discussions.
As reported previously, the Simcoe County District School Board has only identified a replacement high school for Collingwood on its list of capital priorities this year. The superintendent said the hope is to have a replacement school some time in the next five years.
The town has published a page to their website dedicated to the interim control bylaw. You can find it here.
