WELLINGTON COUNTY – Wellington County Warden Andy Lennox says the province’s announcement to reverse changes to local official plans is encouraging.
In a statement Monday, Paul Calandra, Ontario’s new municipal affairs and housing minister announced plans to introduce legislation that will reverse official plan decisions for Wellington County, Guelph and other municipalities.
“In reviewing how decisions were made regarding official plans, it is now clear that they failed to meet this test. In response, as soon as I am able, I will be introducing legislation that would reverse the official plan decisions,” Calandra said.
The legislation would wind back provincial changes to official plans and official plan amendments, “except in circumstances where construction has begun or where doing so would contravene existing provincial legislation and regulation. This includes winding back changes to urban boundaries.”
Wellington County Warden Andy Lennox says today’s announcement is a step in the right direction.
In May 2023, the province revised Wellington County’s Official Plan 119, which addresses and manages the county’s mandated population and housing growth to 2051.
The expansion includes adding mostly agricultural land to urban boundaries with more than 1,000 acres around Fergus and Elora in Centre Wellington, 37 acres close near Rockwood in Guelph/Eramosa Township; and about 15 acres just outside of Clifford in Minto Township.
Lennox said the initial adjustments earlier this year didn’t make sense from a development perspective.
He says if the plan is to build 1.5 millions home across the province, it doesn’t make sense to add land to an urban boundary that there is no feasible way to service it.
Lennox says, from his understanding of the announcement this will come back to county staff and council to weigh in on, as they get more information.
Calandra says to ensure that the reset plans match shared ambitions to build more homes, especially now that municipalities have made their housing pledges, the province will be asking impacted municipalities to submit changes and updates to those plans to ministry staff within 45 days of today, including information on projects that are already underway.
