It’s been six years since the Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake was sent back to the drawing board after submitting its newest official plan for review and being told it didn’t match policy plans laid out by the Ontario government and Niagara Region.
Now, NOTL is in the home stretch of having a new plan that’ll guide how the town will grow and how its land will be used — and, it hopes, one that the province will give a thumbs up to.
Niagara-on-the-Lake council approved the first draft of a new official plan on Tuesday, bringing the town closer to the final version it hopes to hand in to the province by November.
Coun. Erwin Wiens, who chaired the meeting in Lord Mayor Gary Zalepa’s absence, said he was pleased with the progress.
“A lot of work needed to go into make it comply with provincial policy,” he said.
“I’m very happy with it. I’m very happy that our timelines are still on track, that we can get this done.”
In December, council told staff to prepare a new plan by October. The draft presented Tuesday is based on the 2019 version, with red-line edits showing proposed deletions.
The goal is to update the 2019 document to meet current provincial and regional planning requirements, which the earlier version failed to do.
The plan identifies broad areas of focus: managing the municipality’s population growth, employment and the economy, housing, agriculture, the environment, climate change, heritage, urban design and Indigenous engagement.
It also outlines specific policies to protect rural areas, guide development, measures to support affordable housing and manage land around the Greenbelt, the Niagara Escarpment and Niagara District Airport.
Other components address archeology, outdoor heritage and wildlife areas, infrastructure and municipal administration.
The town also has a plan to manage development and growth up to 2051.
Wiens said while every part of the plan matters, some issues draw more attention than others.
“What’s probably of most importance to our residents is land use policies and density,” he said. He also noted agriculture, transportation, roads and general planning were frequent concerns raised.
The town acknowledged in a staff report that it’s still consulting with others on the plan.
“Staff note that there are various ongoing inputs to the policy review, as well as review and input from other staff departments, agencies, interested parties, Indigenous communities, and the public,” the report said.
The plan is supposed to be updated every five years, but the current draft comes after the process was stalled, Wiens said.
Council approved the previous official plan in 2017. A revised version was drafted in 2019 and submitted to the province, but it was never approved because it did not follow provincial and regional requirements for plan creation.
In the absence of an approved town plan, the region’s official plan took precedence. That document was repealed earlier this year, leaving the responsibility to individual municipalities, including Niagara-on-the-Lake.
“We learned the first time from 2019 how important it is to get it right,” said Wiens.
Town staff will revise the draft between August and October, with public open houses and a statutory meeting scheduled between September and October.
Once finalized, the plan will be submitted to the province, with a target date of Nov. 1. The province then has 90 days to review it.
Residents can submit feedback at jointheconversationnotl.org/officialplan.
