At their General Committee meeting in February, Huntsville Manager of Planning, Richard Clark, gave Huntsville Councillors an overview of the planning applications the department dealt with in 2023.
Clark reminded councillors that the new Community Planning Permit system came into effect in 2023 and it was meant to streamline the number of applications. Although the number of planning applications decreased, which was one of the intended outcomes of the Community Planning Permit system, overall, Clark said planning activity remained on par with previous years.
Clark noted that of the planning applications considered in 2023, 447 new building lots capable of accommodating new building units were approved. Of those lots, 20 per cent were for low-density development, around 24 per cent were for medium-density and the bulk, 55 per cent, were for high-density housing developments. “And that continues a trend towards more high-density development types in Huntsville,” said Clark.
The potential addition of 447 residential units to the market through planning approvals is lower than 1,216 units approved in 2022. “However that value was inflated somewhat, as 782 units were from one residential development which was the Earls Road development,” explained Clark.
“Overall the overview provided appears to show a leveling off, or a plateauing trend, in terms of applications received and processed and a trend towards higher-density development types continues but medium-density development climbed too.”
In terms of appeals to the Ontario Land Tribunal, the report indicates one. “In regards to appeals to the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT), one (1) application was appealed in 2023: the Buchman CPP application (OLT-23-000468). This appeal involved an applicant appeal of Council’s decision to deny a portion of their CPP application.”
Clarke also noted that all site specific OLT appeals made respecting the Town’s Community Planning Permit bylaw were settled in 2023.
“Due to the high volume of planning and building inquiries, Council authorized the addition of a full-time Senior Planner and Planning Technician position. The Senior Planner position was filled in July 2023. This addition brought the department’s staff complement to seven (7) full time staff members including: a Manager of Planning, two Senior Planners, one Planner, two Planning Technicians, and one Administrative Assistant.”
In 2024, the departments will continue the roll-out and implementation of the CPP bylaw. “An Official Plan Housekeeping Amendment to permit the Town to undertake public notice for planning applications through alternate measures not currently specified in the Planning Act is currently before the District of Muskoka for approval,” noted Clark.
He also said the department will be “adopting an Electronic Planning Applications Approval tool similar to the Building Department’s e-permitting system, and utilizing the same CloudPermit software. Configuration of this tool has occurred throughout 2022 and 2023 and will be finalized shortly.”
Planning staff are also expected to formulate criteria for evaluating applications that request increases to height and density. Staff will also “begin work on addressing planning related action items identified in the Town’s recently adopted Strategic Plan. Staff will bring a report forward to seek Council direction on the work plans for addressing strategic directions and which actions should be prioritized.”
In addition, Clark noted that the planning web pages on the Town of Huntsville website have been redesigned to make them more user-friendly, and the updated versions will be launching shortly.
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