The Town of The Blue Mountains is ready to ramp up the second phase of its Official Plan update process.
At its committee of the whole meeting on Feb. 21, council received a report from staff outlining the next steps in the process to review the town’s official plan. The first phase of the review was completed in Sept. 2022 and council chose to defer a final decision on phase one until the second phase of the project could be considered at the same time.
Shawn Postma, manager of community planning, delivered the update about how the next phase of the project will roll out.
It will include:
- Two new background reports on building height and community design guidelines
- A study of the planning policies of neighbouring and comparable municipalities
- More direct reporting to council of the progress of the project (with steering committee used for phase 1 being dissolved)
- A council workshop on proposed policies
- Five public information centres
- A “pop-up” event designed to attract more public input into the project
Postma said the timeline for the second phase remains the same with the project expected to be finished in December 2023. The budget is also unchanged.
“We are not asking for any additional funds,” said Posta.
Additional activities in phase two will be funded through phase-one savings and from contingency funds in the budget for the work.
Members of council were generally supportive of the report. Council passed a resolution to accept the report, but also asked for staff to report back further about the financial and logistical considerations of including a housing needs analysis in the official plan review. Council also asked staff to provide recommendations for developing community character guidelines from input from the public.
