Council gets chance to contribute to ‘planning blueprint’ vision
Clearview council members participated in a round table discussion during a visioning session Monday as part of an ongoing process of updating the municipality’s 2001-2021 Official Plan. The township’s Official Plan must be consistent with the County of Simcoe’s official plan and conform to the Provincial Policy Statement, which is a bit of a moving target because a new draft has been released and is open for comment.
The Official Plan is a blueprint used to guide municipal land planning decisions, essentially making sure development happens where it most makes sense, said Steve Wever, president of GSP Group, a planning, urban design, and landscape architecture firm that is leading the review.
Wever said the goal of Monday’s visioning session was to hear input from the new council, elected last fall, to ensure they had input.
Mayor Doug Measures said he had been waiting a long time for the opportunity.
During the discussion, councillors envisioned a Clearview Township that is safe, balanced, and unified. They talked about creating a community that has a wide variety of attainable and affordable housing for all ages, including rental housing. They want to see diversified commercial lands that help to promote economic health.
Another common priority was to intensify development in the settlement areas to minimize sprawl and protect agricultural lands, that make up the majority of Clearview’s land use.
In addition to providing good housing options and transit solutions, councillors continue to wish for a hotel or motel as a form of overnight accommodation for visitors, and continue to voice opposition to allowing short-term accommodation on platforms such as Airbnb.
Preserving local character and “dark skies” continues to be a priority.
There will be a public engagement process as part of the creation of the new Official Plan.
