Approved with an H

What is a holding provision and how can it help guide smart development in the County of Brant?

EDITORIAL / LETTER TO EDITOR

Residential growth in our community is always a hot topic and I wanted to share some facts and some opinions as we navigate trying to control and manage growth

Generally speaking, residents of the County of Brant hear about Planning Applications submitted by developers, and assume that Council’s options are to either Approve or Decline those applications.

I have LOTS of personal friends who say to me “ You have to Decline any further applications…growth is out of control already and we have a huge traffic problem” I completely understand that sentiment and the frustrations behind it. I share the community’s desire to find the most effective ways of slowing down and effectively managing the growth in Paris.

With that goal in mind, I am learning that in addition to “Approve or Decline” there is another third option that can be useful: Approve with an H for Holding Provision. In this scenario, construction on the development is PREVENTED or LIMITED until specific defined criteria can be met. Examples of possible criteria include: water,

Wastewater Capacity And Other Infrastructure Factors

At the April 4th Planning and Development Committee meeting (video available on YouTube) we looked at an Application for conversion of a former school property on Maple Ave in Burford to a development with 44 Townhomes. Lots of neighbours showed up wanting to see the application declined There are lots of people in that part of Burford who do not want to see this type of housing in their area. We gave everyone an opportunity to share their point of view and there was lots of discussion within the Committee

During that meeting, I reminded everyone that when a developer sees an application declined (or when a developer perceives that their application isn’t processed fast enough), the developer often takes the Municipality to "Court" to have the decision appealed.

(Court is actually a tribunal, called the Ontario Land Tribunal which is run by the Province).

So unfortunately “Just Decline the application” is not the end of the story and does not always achieve our goal of slowing down or managing growth.

In these situations where we are “in Court”, it is very rare that the Tribunal decides in favour of supporting the Municipality Typically, it ends up being a settlement where the developer and the Municipality work to come to an agreement.

As I understand it, there may be another factor when these situations go to the Tribunal: Picture a privately owned golf course, that is owned by a developer who has a proposal to build 400 houses. If the Municipality doesn’t process/approve that development in a timely fashion, the developer can take the Municipality to the Tribunal AND while they are at it, they might increase the number of requested houses from 400 to 800 That is how a Community might end up with 748 houses being built on a golf course instead of 400. The only best case scenario in a situation like that is the settlement process might create the opportunity to require the developer to spread the building of the houses over several years, to give the Municipality an opportunity to sort out necessary infrastructure improvements, including road/traffic management.

In the scenario described, Approval with an H (Holding Provision) for the original application for 400 houses (with construction delayed until water/wastewater capacities and road management were sorted), might have had the result that the golf course would still end up with houses on it someday, but it might be 400 instead of 748 dwellings (Realistically speaking, they may have always had a long term plan for 800 homes).

During the meeting regarding the Burford application, Councillor Lukas Oakley spoke also, reminding everyone that there are people under the age of 30 who, out of necessity, are looking for housing solutions that may be different than what the community has seen before. He pointed out that there may be young people in Burford who wish they could find rental apartments, or townhomes that might fit their budget and allow them to stay in their hometown. There may also be seniors who want to downsize without leaving the community where they spent their entire lives

In the case of the Burford example, staff had analyzed the application and recommended “Approve with a Holding Provision” with the criteria being tied to waiting until a Burford Water/Wastewater Plan is completed, and/or necessary new private solutions determined and the Committee (and subsequently Council) voted to support that recommendation.

I am intentionally sharing all of this information because before joining Council, I had never heard of a “Holding Provision” (and figure most people are in the same situation) and I am now seeing potential merits of using this tool to retain some control over residential growth.

I predict that this subject may come up again, related to proposals in Paris and other parts of the County. Stay tuned.

- Published with permission from the author Steve Howes, Paris Ward 2 Councillor, County of Brant Council.