Township gets on the ball with bylaw changes

DAVID PINK.

Muskoka Lakes is running out of time to complete its new zoning bylaw.
Overhauling the zoning bylaw was one of the goals council set following its election into office, but according to the township’s senior planner due to the large rate of staff turn-over, things stalled for more than a year.
With an election coming up in 2014, time is running out.
David Pink addressed committee of the whole members with the urgency of the situation the day after he was officially appointed as director of planning for the township.
With the time of year and the budget not approved it’s difficult to hire a consultant and expect the work to be finished in time for a summer public meeting so the seasonal residents can attend, he said. However, waiting until the spring for a public meeting puts the issue into the midst of an election year.
“I think you do have to begin rather urgently,” Pink told councillors, suggesting they use funds to hire a consultant to kick-start the process.
Pink suggested two options: MHPC Planning which he feels will want to start the process from scratch, discarding the two drafts and two public meetings that have already been done, or Jones Consulting which he feels will pick up where the process is at and pick away at council’s concerns.
Coun. Don Furniss offered a third solution, the former director of planning, who now owns his own planning business, and is familiar with the township and what’s been done.
“I worry about the level expertise we get, we’re on a somewhat tight time schedule,” he said of the agents. “At some point council has to draw a line that there are no more changes otherwise we never get to the finish line”
Coun. Phil Harding stressed the importance of allowing enough time to complete the process and look at changes to things such as septic requirements, roadways, waterways and marine engines since the last bylaw was written.
“I don’t want to rush to the finish line in this process. My perspective on this bylaw, we are leaving our legacy not for four years from now, not for 10 years from now, but for 100 years from now. We are starting to shape what Muskoka will look like in the future,” he said.
Council and staff agreed, but Pink pointed out the challenge lies in whether council wants to complete the bylaw before their term is over.
The issue will go to the committee of the whole budget meeting on Feb. 19.

Small - Large
|
Print
|
Email
|
|