Roughly 100 people gathered in Port Elgin Wednesday evening to hear more about a community permit planning system (CPPS).
Consultants from Gladki Planning Associates say the goal of a CPPS is to increase housing supply and variety and improve housing affordability in Saugeen Shores. It’s looking at areas that could be considered suitable for intensification and higher density forms of housing.
The idea is to use a streamlined Community Planning Permit System (CPPS) instead of the current zoning bylaw and site-plan control bylaw in those areas with an initial focus on Port Elgin and Southampton’s downtowns, and maybe the rest of Saugeen Shores in the future.
Some residents are concerned a faster development approval process in downtown Southampton and Port Elgin will ruin their character and take away public input on proposed developments.
The Town’s FAQ page on the community planning permit system explains, “The community determines which areas would benefit from the process, especially areas that should have more affordable housing. Any new construction in those areas would only require a single building application, combining zoning, site plan and minor variance decisions.”
Andrew Davidge from Gladki Planning Associates said Wednesday night, a CPPS is one tool that could allow the town to give more direction on development, not necessarily less.
Regarding, recent changes to provincial planning legislation Davidge said, “I would say it stripped away some of the powers municipalities could determine the specifics of development. A CPP system is sort of a little forgotten corner of planning legislation that the provincial government hasn’t stripped the town’s abilities to still engage with things like character, heritage and design and sustainability in ways that are now excluded from the regular planning process that is zoning based. That’s an important factor.”
Davidge added, “For the time being, the CPP — it’s a bit of a stronger tool than you have with the zoning.”
He noted, based on previous feedback, consultants are no longer recommending increasing the allowed height of buildings, nor are they recommending allowing a ‘step back’ storey on the top of buildings.
A number of residents shared concerns the downtowns could lose their charm if development intensifies.
Resident Tammy La Rue noted for her, “It’s about the heritage and the historic value, to lose that, I think is concerning,” She added, the community’s unique character and charm is a draw for tourists.
La Rue asked, “Is there a written definition of what that character is, because we tend to use it loosely, but is it defined that the community would be aware of what that character is?”
Davidge said, “I think the issue of character is one that would be best defined through urban design guidelines. They can tell a story about all the different elements of how a community comes together.”
He explained, “We’re thinking about main street– it is about the height of the buildings, it’s about the relationship of the buildings to the street. It’s about animating the at-grade uses so that you have a retail spot that people can connect to as pedestrians. It can be about compatible colour palettes and attributes. All those things can be defined through urban design guidelines.”
Davidge noted some guidelines already exist in Saugeen Shores, and while those “get a lot right,” he added, “They weren’t exactly fit for purpose of this area and this vision and the idea– of how can we both intensify and maintain what’s important.”
Davidge said, “We are proposing that would be a step additional to this project and it would be a public process. Davidge noted “A good best practice would have multiple stages of engagement and consultation with the community.”
With regard to protecting the historic character of the downtown, Davidge noted, “There are other tools at the municipality’s disposal to promote and protect heritage and that would be through the municipal Heritage Act.”
Resident Sheila Latham, noted design guidelines are not in the CPPS, and expressed concern that staff won’t have the time to assess the compatibility of proposals ‘based on character for which they have no definition’ and guidelines that are not easily found online.
She feels design guidelines are worth updating before the CPPS is approved. She says six buildings within the CPPS boundaries have heritage protection, but argues that according to Hilborn’s Guide to Old Southampton, 180 buildings in Southampton can be considered important from a heritage perspective, and a good number of those are within the CPPS boundary in Southampton.
One resident suggested they try the CPP system in Port Elgin and not Southampton. Another expressed concern about a potential further reduction of tree cover in the area.
There is another public meeting that will allow for comments set for July 13th at 6:30 p.m. at the Town of Saugeen Shores Municipal Office.