Buckets of information at land use planning session

​10 speakers in 3 ½ hours – the Peterborough and the Kawarthas Association of Realtors Land Planning session was once again a plethora of information.

With the Peterborough Chamber of Commerce representing 900-member businesses in the City and County of Peterborough, I find the information helpful on many fronts and often dovetailing with the principles set out in the Peterborough Chamber’s municipal business platform “Building a Community Outside the Ordinary.”

The full room at the Peterborough Golf and Country Club learned about how agricultural land is rated and how that land is designated and used from a planning perspective.  For example, if you are considering identifying your property as a hobby farm, what does that mean versus developing a farm-based business? The Ontario Federation of Agriculture representative Peter Jeffrey said that as a sector it is considered very high tech and more and more technical innovation is expected to enhance how farms work for us.

Martin Ward from the City of Peterborough spoke about the transit system.  Did you know that City transit has about 5 million rides per year?  He went on to say that the City fleet is 100% accessible and that partnerships with Trent University and Fleming College are working well and benefitting the entire community.   When it comes to cost recovery, Peterborough Transit has one of the highest cost recovery rates of like municipalities.

But that doesn’t mean they’ll stop looking for ways to improve.  Currently, a transit review is underway and the City is looking for feedback on routes, a long-term growth plan and a downtown transit hub review.  Ward told the crowd that bus stop upgrades in 2018 resulted in 143 new pads and 50 new solar powered shelters.   

Challenges in transit include long routes and travel times through the hub, new growth areas, and increasing ridership numbers.  When it comes to opportunities, the department is looking to the future for a new bus yard and potential hub as well as an intelligent bus system app that can help riders follow their bus.   ​

Building a Community Outside the Ordinary Platform Principle"
An effective transit network that works for all is necessary to    building a whole community.

Chief Building Inspector, Dean Findlay brought home the reality of the building code and an openness
to work together to address challenges.  He outlined how the original intent of the code to address structural soundness, weather resistance, and overall safety has expanded to include energy efficiency, accessibility, climate change, and use of innovative building materials.​

Building a Community Outside the Ordinary Platform Principle"
Building measures that are future focused and proactive.
Official Plans that are innovative and adaptive.

The room heard from planning officials Bryan Weir from the County of Peterborough and Ken Hetherington from the City.   

The County’s official plan review has four stages with the process currently between stages 1 and 2.  Weir defined an official plan as the base land use document for guiding development.  Before it comes into effect the plan must be approved by the province.  Currently, the County and four of the townships fall under the County plan for development. There is the possibility that the review exercise could result in all eight townships being covered.  One of the biggest challenges with the County plan is scale and how settlement areas are more likely to face land use compatibility issues.

On the city side, the official plan has been in various stages of review since 2011 after last being fully reviewed in 1981. Under new provincial guidelines, Peterborough must achieve a density of 50 residents and jobs per hectare with the downtown at 150 residents and jobs per hectare.  They are also working on a labelling system for Peterborough’s Natural Heritage System. Hetherington says the hope is to have a draft plan to council this fall.   

In her address to the crowd, Mayor Diane Therrien identified three areas of focus including the development of a housing market assessment, identifying new parking needs in all areas of the city and creating a housing commission to be proactive in combatting homelessness.   ​

Building a Community Outside the Ordinary Platform Principle" 
​Increasing housing stock by supporting the building of various types of accommodation.

MPP Dave Smith used his time to talk about his government’s goal of reducing the debt and deficit in Ontario - two areas he says are holding the province back from spending taxpayer dollars where it is needed most.  During the Q&A of his presentation, MPP Smith was also asked about the status of the VIA Rail High Frequency Rail project, to which he replied that the project is still very much at the forefront of the federal
transportation minister.   
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The event and commentary once again proves that in this region we are connected in many ways and need to work together to achieve prosperity.

Read Building a Community Outside the Ordinary