211116 Boundary Committee Agenda CLOSEDPage 1 of 2
The Corporation of the Town of Tillsonburg
Boundary Adjustment Advisory Committee
November 16, 2021
7:30 a.m.
Electronic
CLOSED AGENDA
1.Call to Order
2.Adoption of Agenda
Proposed Resolution #1
Moved by:
Seconded by:
THAT the Agenda as prepared for the Boundary Adjustment Advisory Committee
meeting of November 16, 2021, be adopted.
3.Disclosures of Pecuniary Interest and the General Nature Thereof
4.Presentations
5.General Business and Reports
6.1 Town of Tillsonburg potential expansion lands
6.2 Property Owner Request – 204364 Keswick Road
6.Round Table
7.Next Meeting
December 21, 2021 at 7:30 a.m.
8.Adjournment
Proposed Resolution #3
Moved by:
Seconded by:
(ATTACHED)
(ATTACHED)
Page 2 of 2
THAT the November 16, 2021 Boundary Adjustment Advisory Committee meeting
be adjourned at _____ a.m.
Please contact the Staff Liaison listed below to gain access to this electronic
meeting:
Contact
Kennedy Atkinson
katkinson@tillsonburg.ca
STAFF BRIEFING NOTE
COMMUNITY PLANNING OFFICE
Overview of Process and Land Use Planning Considerations
Related to Municipal Boundary Adjustments for Settlement
Expansion Purposes
October, 2021
Background/Purpose
The purpose of this memo is to provide a brief overview of the land use planning process and
related considerations associated with a municipal boundary adjustment for the purposes of an
urban settlement expansion (e.g. for development purposes) in the County of Oxford. This memo
does not address the various other issues and considerations that may be part of the boundary
adjustment discussion process, such as impacts on municipal assessment, compensation and
service agreements etc.
Overview of the Settlement Expansion Process
a) Municipal Act Framework
Locally initiated municipal boundary adjustments are subject to the relevant provisions of Part V
of the Municipal Act, 2001 that address a negotiated settlement between municipalities and the
approval of the annexation by the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.
There is no Provincial requirement to justify the proposed location, configuration and/or extent of
the lands to be incorporated into the corporate boundary of an urban municipality as part of the
boundary adjustment process under the Municipal Act. However, such matters are still essential
to consider if the annexed lands are intended for settlement expansion purposes, as the permitted
use of such lands is determined by their Official Plan designation and zoning, not by the location
of the corporate boundary. Development of any annexed lands for non-agricultural (e.g.
settlement) purposes would require an Official Plan amendment to re-designate the lands from
‘agricultural reserve’ to ‘settlement’. Such amendments must be consistent with the policy
requirements of the 2020 Provincial Policy Statement and the County Official Plan, both of which
require justification of need and location for any settlement expansion. These types of Official
Plan amendments tend to be closely monitored by the Province to ensure they have been justified
in accordance with Provincial policy.
Therefore, if the intent of a municipal boundary adjustment/annexation is to incorporate lands for
settlement expansion/development purposes, planning staff generally advise that the relevant
land use planning considerations be considered (at least preliminarily) as part of the boundary
adjustment process. This will help to ensure that municipalities involved in the boundary
adjustment process have a general understanding of whether the location and extent of any lands
to be annexed can be reasonably justified for re-designation to ‘settlement’, before the boundary
adjustment is finalized. Planning staff are available to assist in this regard by providing planning
related information and advice, including the preparation of preliminary land use screening
mapping for any proposed annexation areas, where requested.
b) Land Use Planning Considerations - Provincial Policy
The Planning Act requires that all municipal land use planning decisions be ‘consistent with’ the
Provincial Policy Statement (PPS). The current 2020 Provincial Policy Statement contains a
range of policies that apply to proposed settlement expansions including, but not limited to:
i) 25 Year Planning Horizon
Section 1.1.2 of the PPS directs that sufficient land shall be made available to accommodate
an appropriate range and mix of land uses to meet projected land needs for a time horizon
of up to 25 years. The projected growth is to be accommodated through intensification and
re-development and, if necessary, designated growth areas.
However, the PPS does not limit planning for infrastructure and public service facilities or
long term protection of employment areas beyond a 25 year planning horizon, provided that
no lands are designated for growth beyond the 25 year planning horizon. Further, the PPS
does not prevent municipalities from undertaking planning (e.g. secondary planning and
servicing strategies) for a longer time frame or larger area, provided that no lands are
designated for growth beyond the 25 year planning horizon.
Given the considerable lead time often required to complete municipal boundary adjustments
and the secondary planning required to expand a settlement area designation and to provide
the level of certainty necessary to undertake the comprehensive, longer term planning
required to ensure the development of complete communities and associated infrastructure
and public services, municipalities may wish to consider looking beyond the 25 year planning
period for the purposes of adjusting their corporate boundaries. The designation of any
additional growth lands in accordance with such longer term plan could then be phased-in
(e.g. through Official Plan amendment) as required to ensure a consistent 25 year supply of
land is maintained.
ii) Coordination
Section 1.2 of the PPS indicates that the Upper Tier Municipality (in consultation with Area
Municipalities) is responsible for matters such as:
Identifying and allocating population, housing and employment projections to the
Area Municipalities;
Identifying where growth or development will be directed;
Identifying targets for intensification and redevelopment; and
Providing policy direction to the Area Municipalities on matters that cross municipal
boundaries.
In Oxford, this PPS requirement is largely addressed through Official Plan policy and the
County Growth Forecasts and Land Needs Study (e.g. Phase 1 Comprehensive Review,
2020), which is updated in consultation with the Area Municipalities approximately every 5
years.
iii) Providing for Appropriate Range and Mix of Housing
Section 1.4.1 of the PPS requires that planning authorities maintain at all times the ability to
accommodate projected residential growth for a minimum of 15 years through residential
intensification and redevelopment and, if necessary, lands which are designated and
available for development. Further, a minimum 3 year supply of residential units in draft
approved or registered plans and/or on lands suitably zoned to facilitate residential
intensification is to be maintained together with adequate servicing capacity.
iv) Settlement Expansions
Section 1.1.3.8 and of the PPS indicates that the designation of lands for settlement purposes
can only occur through a ‘comprehensive review’. A comprehensive review is defined by the
PPS as an Official Plan review initiated or adopted by a planning authority, which is based on
a review of population and employment projections and reflects allocations by an upper tier
municipality and which demonstrates that:
Physical constraints to accommodating growth within the existing settlement boundary
have been considered and that sufficient opportunities for growth are not available
through intensification, redevelopment and existing designated growth areas to
accommodate projected needs over the 25 year planning horizon;
Infrastructure and public services which are planned or available are suitable for the
development and financially viable over their life cycle and that planning for
infrastructure and public services is integrated with planning for growth;
Alternative directions for growth or development have been evaluated and it has been
determined how best to accommodate growth while protecting provincial interests.
For example, impact on natural resources (e.g. woodlands, wetlands, water,
agriculture land/operations, minerals and petroleum, cultural heritage and
archeological resources) and protecting public health and safety by avoiding natural
and/or human made hazards);
There are no reasonable alternatives that avoid prime agricultural lands or are on
lower priority agricultural lands, the proposed expansion complies with the minimum
distance separation formula, and impacts on agricultural operations which are
adjacent or close to the settlement area are mitigated to the extent feasible; and
Cross jurisdictional issues have been considered.
The recently completed County of Oxford Phase 1 Comprehensive Review study (Hemson, March
2020) provides the current basis for addressing the PPS comprehensive review requirements
related to population and employment forecasts and allocations and associated land need.
Further, the estimated land need for each Area Municipality is generally updated by the County
planning office on an annual basis.
With respect to the comprehensive review requirements related to the evaluation of alternative
directions for growth, following is an overview of some of the key land use planning considerations
that must typically be reviewed and addressed in Oxford:
Prime Agricultural Lands – Virtually all lands located outside of designated settlements in
Oxford are considered to be prime agricultural land. Therefore, assessment of agricultural
impacts is typically a key consideration when evaluating the most appropriate direction for
any proposed settlement expansion. Such an assessment typically involves, but is not
necessarily limited to, consideration of soil capability, size of parcels, degree of land
fragmentation, prevalence of existing non-agricultural uses, size and type of livestock
facilities, level of investment in farm infrastructure, and impacts on the broader agricultural
system (e.g. support services, agricultural related industries etc.).
Minimum Distance Separation Formulae (MDS) – MDS is a land use planning tool that
determines a recommended separation distance between a livestock barn and/or manure
storage facility and a potentially sensitive land use (i.e. a settlement area or other non-
agricultural use). The objective is to prevent land use conflicts and minimize nuisance
complaints related to odour. Given the size and number of livestock operations in the
County, most settlement expansion proposals tend to be impacted, at least to some
extent, by the presence of existing livestock operations/facilities. The required MDS
setbacks from such facilities may limit the use of lands for settlement expansion purposes
in certain locations.
The application of MDS is optional for a livestock operations are located within a
designated settlement area in an Official Plan. In Oxford, MDS is not typically applied to
livestock operations that have been incorporated into a designated settlement area
through settlement expansion. However, it is important to note that the setback
requirements from livestock operations located outside of a proposed settlement
expansion area can often significantly limit which lands within a proposed expansion area
can be designated for settlement purposes (e.g. as settlement expansions are required to
comply with MDS). These potential MDS impacts can result from livestock facilities
located as far as 1.5 km beyond the limits of a proposed settlement.
Limestone and Sand and Gravel Resources – The PPS states that, in areas adjacent to
or within known deposits of mineral aggregate resources, development and activities
which would preclude or hinder new aggregate operations or access to the resource (e.g.
settlement expansions) shall only be permitted if the resource extraction would not be
feasible, the proposed land use serves a greater long-term public interest and if issues of
public health, public safety and environmental impact are addressed. For this reason, it
is typically difficult to justify including lands containing such resources in a proposed
settlement expansion area.
Natural Features and Areas – Open watercourses are generally considered to be potential
fish habitat and any associated valleyland/floodplain areas are identified as both
significant environmental features and natural hazard areas. Most wetlands and larger
wooded areas are also considered to be significant natural heritage features.
Development and site alteration are not generally permitted within such features and any
proposed development on any adjacent lands is generally required to undertake an
environmental impact study to demonstrate that there will be no negative impact on such
features or their ecological functions. As such, although lands occupied by and
immediately adjacent to such features are often located within proposed areas of
settlement expansion, they are not generally included in the determination of the
developable land area.
Natural and Man-Made Hazards – Development is not generally permitted on lands
subject to natural (e.g. flooding, erosion, unstable soils etc.) and/or man-made (e.g.
contaminated sites, oils and gas wells etc.) hazards. As such, although such lands are
often located within proposed areas of settlement expansion, they are generally not
included in the determination of the developable land area.
Wellhead Protection Areas – Lands located within a Wellhead Protection Areas may be
subject to certain restrictions on uses/activities. For instance, certain activities prescribed
under the Clean Water Act are considered to be significant drinking water threats in these
areas and, as such, may be prohibited, restricted or otherwise regulated by the policies in
an approved Source Protection Plan. Although the vast majority of activities can only be
a significant threat within a WHPA-A (e.g. 100 m around the well), Dense Non-Aqueous
Phase Liquids (DNAPLS), which may be used in certain industrial type
processes/operations, can be significant threats in WHPAs A to C. As such, the WHPAs
may be a consideration in determining the most appropriate location for future employment
lands.
Efficient Use of Infrastructure and Public Service Facilities – The PPS requires that any
infrastructure (roads, transit, water and wastewater, storm drainage, utilities etc.) and
public service facilities (e.g. libraries, emergency services, recreation facilities etc.) are
suitable for the proposed development and financially viable over their life cycle.
Provincial Highway crossings, environmental features, topography, location and capacity
of existing services, and type, extent and timing of development are just some of the
considerations that may affect the cost and/or feasibility of servicing a potential annexation
area. These considerations are typically addressed, at least at a functional level, through
the Servicing Strategy that is part of the Comprehensive Review/Secondary Planning
exercise required to consider any proposed settlement expansion. However, in the case
of infrastructure, any Environmental Assessment requirements will also need to be
considered. Any specific questions with respect to planning for Water and Wastewater
Servicing infrastructure should be directed to County Public Works.
c) Official Plan Policies and Zoning
The lands located outside of existing settlement areas in the County are designated primarily as
‘Agricultural Reserve’ in the County Official Plan. Therefore, if any such lands were to be
annexed, an Official Plan Amendment would be required to change the land use designation from
‘Agricultural Reserve’ to ‘Settlement’, before any of the lands could be used for settlement
purposes. Such an amendment would need to be consistent with the relevant policies of the PPS
and Official Plan.
The Official Plan policies require the municipality to undertake a secondary planning study and a
servicing strategy prior to the re-designation of any annexed lands for settlement purposes. The
primary purpose of these studies is to justify the extent and location/direction of the proposed
settlement expansion and to identify appropriate land use designations, urban design standards,
major road alignments, public service and infrastructure locations and requirements, pedestrian
and transit routes, development phasing, how natural resources (e.g. environmental features and
aggregates) are to be protected and environmental hazards avoided etc.
If more than one area is being proposed for annexation, it is possible that each area could be
studied separately, particularly if they are intended for different purposes (e.g. employment vs.
residential). Normally, the County and Area Municipality would oversee the preparation of such
studies, with qualified consultants retained to assist staff in addressing the complex technical
issues. The studies would result in recommendations for appropriate land use designations, and
provide directions on which servicing approaches best suit the potential future development of
the annexed lands. Following completion of the secondary planning and servicing studies, an
amendment to the Official Plan would generally be initiated by the Area Municipality/County to
implement the findings and recommendations of the studies. However, in some circumstances
(e.g. where the lands are in one ownership and intended primarily for residential development or
a single use) the County and Area Municipality may potentially allow a development proponent to
prepare and submit the required studies and planning applications for Council’s review and
approval.
In Oxford, the majority of the land surrounding most existing settlements is zoned for agricultural
purposes. Therefore, following the adoption of any Official Plan amendment to establish policies
and land use designations for any settlement expansion on such lands, the Area Municipality
within which they are contained would need to adopt zoning to accommodate and regulate the
intended type and forms of urban development. Post-annexation, two (2) approaches are
commonly used to establish new zoning:
i) In annexed areas that have not been re-designated for settlement purposes (e.g. remain
designated for agriculture), or that are within a settlement designation for which new
comprehensive zoning has not yet been established, lands may be rezoned on a site-
specific or case-by-case basis in accordance with the applicable Official Plan
designation; or,
ii) In the case of annexed lands that have been re-designated for settlement purposes, the
Area Municipality can pre-zone all of or parts of such lands in anticipation of intended
growth.
It should be noted that the Zoning By-law provisions of the Area Municipality from which the lands
were annexed will generally continue to apply until such time as the municipality that annexed the
lands has amended their comprehensive zoning by-law to incorporate said lands.
Questions?
As a starting point, any questions regarding the information contained in this memo should be
directed to the County planner assigned to the Area Municipality(ies) involved and they can then
consult with and/or involve other County staff (i.e. PW, policy planners, GIS etc.) as may be
necessary to respond.
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TOWN OF TILLSONBURG
ENGINEERING SERVICES
PUBLIC WORKS DIVISION
200-204 BROADWAY ST, TILLSONBURG, ON, N4G 5A7
Date: 11/11/2021Document Path: K:\ArcGIS\MXD\TOWN MAPS\AnnexAreas2021\AnnexAreas2021.aprx
Lands Outside of Tillsonburg Boundaries
Lands Outside of Tillsonburg Boundaries
Non Tillsonburg Parcels (Nov. 2021)
Railway Line
Tillsonburg Limits
November 8, 2021
204364 Keswick Rd, South-West Oxford
This map is a user generated static output from an Internet mapping site and
is for reference only. Data layers that appear on this map may or may not be
accurate, current, or otherwise reliable. This is not a plan of survey
Legend
4090
Notes
NAD_1983_UTM_Zone_17N
205 Meters
Watermain Breaks
Service Breaks
Watermain
Watermain
Raw Watermain
Gravity Watermain
Production Well
Active Monitoring Well
Sanitary Pipe Break
Sanitary Gravity Main
<all other values>
Collector
Drain
Interceptor
Overflow
Trunk
Vent
Sanitary Force Main
Sanitary Low Pressure Main
Land Use Zoning (Displays
1:16000 to 1:500)