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Councillors selected for Official Plan Review Steering Committee

July 8, 2021   ·   0 Comments

By Sam Odrowski

Orangeville Council passed a motion to put two councillors and up to two members of the public on its Official Plan Review Steering Committee during a regular Council meeting on June 28.

Coun. Todd Taylor and Coun. Grant Peters were the only two councillors to put their names forward, so both received a seat on the committee without opposition.

After expressing interest to join the committee, Coun. Peters noted that the Town’s Official Plan is a very important planning document and that in addition to having councillors on the committee, he’d like to open it up to members of the public, who have relevant qualifications, to join as well.

“I wonder if given the nature of the matter, being more planning based or sort of land use based, that there might be one or two individuals in the community that don’t sit on a specialty committee that would have interest,” said Coun. Peters. “I don’t want the committee to get too large by any means but nor do I want to exclude some expertise that may exist, that could contribute to the process.”

Mayor Sandy Brown noted that the committee’s conservations surrounding the Official Plan will be quite technical in nature and require a certain level of expertise, but he’s in favour of taking in resumes and considering individuals with the right background. 

Meanwhile, Coun. Joe Andrews echoed Coun. Peters comments regarding the addition of members of the public to the committee and noted that having some people step forward at certain times to offer insight could perhaps be slotted into the committee’s terms of reference.

When Mayor Sandy Brown asked Brandon Ward, the Town’s manager of planning, if the changes to the committee would create any issues, he said there appeared to be none.

He added that Town staff did consider opening up spaces for members of the public, but felt all of the different facets of planning were covered in the composition of the committee, since it draws from many different groups. He went on to note that if its Council’s wishes to have more of a public engaged type platform they can go that route, to which they agreed.

The committee will consist of up to 12 members in total, with two from Council, and one from each of the following committees:

• Heritage Orangeville
• Joint Accessibility Advisory Committee (JAAC)
• Sustainable Orangeville
• Business and Economic Development Advisory Committee (BEDAC)
• Committee of Adjustment o Orangeville Business Improvement Area (BIA)
• Greater Dufferin Area Homebuilders Association
• Orangeville Public Library Board
• Police Services Board

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