in Chatsworth, Grey Highlands, Southgate, West Grey
July 17, 2023
BY SOUTHGREY.CA STAFF — A new land use zoning bylaw is halfway to completion and was presented for the first time to the public at a meeting last week.
A Grey Highlands Committee of the Whole meeting received the document on May 9. This public presentation of the draft zoning bylaw by Grey Highlands Manager of Planning Matt Rapke was offered to about 200 people at the Flesherton Kinplex on Thursday night, July 13.
“It’s going to take a few more months to go through the process,” said Rapke, as he provided an overview of highlights of a comprehensive zoning bylaw review underway by the municipality. The current bylaw dates back to 2004.
Grey Highlands’ official plan has been revised several times since then, so this bylaw review is overdue, said Rapke. The bylaw applies the principles of the official plan and provides “reasonable controls on people’s property for the public interest.”
Rapke, who has been with the municipality for just over three years, began as a Junior Planner, rising quickly to Senior Planner and now is Manager of a team of staff taking on this comprehensive review while they maintain the ongoing business of the municipal planning department.
“Our staff compliment is not increased for this project,” he said in introducing his department and noting they are already busy with regular business of plan reviews. He called on the public to be patient in reaching out to provide input and feedback on the draft plan, which is available online at www.zonegreyhighlands.ca.
Other documents, including a project information sheet and his discussion paper on parking minimums as well as a timeline are also available on the site.
Zoning changes afoot: Grey Highlands municipal Manager of Planning Matt Rapke presented the new draft zoning bylaw to the public for the first time on Thursday night. The Kinplex in Flesherton was full of local folks interested in how the draft bylaw proposes to affect their property rights.
Rapke went over the basics of planning, the legislative authority and process of how official plans and zoning bylaws work at the meeting and provided an overview of some of the many changes in this review. They include significant expansion of residential zones depending on servicing and density and a contraction of various agricultural zones into one overarching zone.
“I borrowed a ton of stuff from Blue Mountains,” he admitted, noting an earlier draft of the bylaw prepared by a consultant was not sufficient in his view. “I didn’t like the first bylaw, so wrote another one. But, it’s not my bylaw, at the end of the day everyone should get involved.”
He suggested all property owners should read the draft to review new definitions, permitted uses and specifics and ask questions, provide feedback and input to the process. Those facing changes to their existing zoning will be notified by mail, he said, suggesting he knows of some properties that seem to have strange zoning but he hasn’t driven out to see what they are.
“You can not do something legally that doesn’t comply with the bylaw,” he stressed, clarifying that as many as 50-60 zoning bylaw amendments for specific properties are needed every year as people want to do things the official plan allows but the current misaligned zoning does not. “There are financial penalties if you don’t comply, and you won’t get a permit without compliance. This has a huge impact on your rights, so it's important we all know how it affects our property rights.”
The current draft does not have maps attached yet, as those will need to be prepared to reflect the new zoning classifications and definitions of land use. As the review process progresses, there will be a public-facing online map tool available that property owners will be able to use to review how the new bylaw will affect them individually.
Many residents had questions at the meeting. Rapke was able to answer them all and encouraged people to follow up with him and his staff through the website set up for the project or by email at zonegh@greyhighlands.ca.
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