Windsor city councillors have approved an amendment to the current Official Plan to prioritize growth in line with provincial policy as the community continues to grow.
At their regular meeting of city council on Monday, councillors discussed the Official Plan Amendment to facilitate additional changes to streamline the development approval process.
According to administration, the purpose of the amendment is to implement policies that will further enhance and expedite the development approval process.
The policies included in the amendment update the current Official Plan policies to clearly identify the information required when a planning application is submitted, define the process that will be completed by the applicants and the City, and clarify the criteria that is considered when making decisions on applications.
The discussion really centred on on planning principles when it comes to projects and applications, and explaining that the city is moving in this direction because of decisions made at the provincial level.
Frustration has been building among community members for the last little while when it comes to certain applications, which members on various committees have said is making things difficult.
Ward 10 councillor Jim Morrison says they've had to look into hiring extra security for meetings as a result.
There's been rising levels of distrust in professionals related to planning, and ward 9 councillor Kieran McKenzie discussed the need to rebuild public trust with the community as the population continues to grow.
Administration says the expected outcomes of this OPA includes a number of further changes to facilitate streamlining by providing applicants with more information earlier in the process regarding the viability of proposals and nature of technical reports that may be required.
The amendments also enhance the opportunity for greater public participation before proposals are finalized.
Mayor Drew Dilkens says they're seeing record applications coming through the Development and Heritage committee, which speaks to the growth of the community.
"That is really good news, but that growth has to happen somewhere, and so it's happening all throughout the city including infill development. And so you have residents who live in established neighbourhoods who are seeing applications come forward for rezoning and plans of subdivision that are not necessarily to their liking. So what is the process for them to be heard to try to make change," he said.
Dilkens says ultimately city council is in the line of fire on these issues because they're required to follow provincial legislation.
"We can't just say we oppose a development just because we oppose it. Otherwise it goes to appeal and we lose. Members of council and myself have to put forward planning rationale, what are your sound planning reasons why you're objecting to an application, that would then be considered by the Ontario Land Tribunal in the event of an appeal."
As an example, if councillors voted against a development solely based on the views on some residents without having objections based on planning principles, Dilkens says it would go to appeal and they'd lose, have to pay the legal costs, and the development would happen anyway.
He says there's a statutory process in place as part of the law established by the provincial government which the city is required to follow.
"Residents now, they don't even have the ability to appeal. It's only an appeal right on behalf of the applicant, which is usually the developer. And so there's a lot of frustration and friction in the existing system, we're dealing with it at the city council level, but we're in that line of fire so we're trying to educate the residents so they understand what we can do and what we can't do to help them," Dilken said.
Dilkens is still encouraging residents to show up and voice their concerns because they still have a strong role in the process.
He says residents need to try and get their opposition and concerns to developers as quickly and as up front as possible, so the developer can amend any application to address resident concerns before even arriving at a planning meeting.
In addition, during the council meeting Dilkens talked about how officials have been discussing about a communication campaign directly related to council decisions related to the development approval process.