KIM BURTON-SCHRAM
LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE REPORTER
A recent motion put forth by Deputy Mayor Williams, North Glengarry Township, requesting a report on the enhancement of public notification to support awareness & engagement with the community, along with transparency for planning applications considered as sensitive, has been defeated by Council.
Jacob Rhéaume, Director of Building, By-Law and Planning for the Township of North Glengarry, presented to Council information to be considered for creating a North Glengarry-specific public notification plan for certain initiatives. Those initiatives considered as sensitive would include: green energy projects such as wind, solar or battery; scale and intensification of zoning; environmental or heritage impact; social sensitivities such as social housing or places of worship; community interest or opposition; location specific factors; and council or political interests.
The Township of North Glengarry currently follows all procedures of the Planning Act of Ontario, meeting obligations as mandated. Recent planning changes, including the battery storage facility currently being constructed on Skye Road in North Glengarry, have faced community opposition and anger over perceived lack of sufficient notification.
Municipalities are being pressured by the provincial government to support green energy projects and Councillors are facing backlash and uproar from their communities. Deputy Mayor Williams felt the motion to expand the public notification might be a way to smooth the pathway for future developments & initiatives and ensure Council members do not have to defend themselves against an angry community that feels it wasn’t informed.
Those Council members opposed to making changes felt that the current provincial notification policy had been well thought out and that there was no need for North Glengarry to make its own modifications, especially if those changes might in any way negatively affect the Township’s obligations to fulfill the legal requirements of the Planning Act.
L’article Motion defeated in North Glengarry est apparu en premier sur Cornwall Seaway News.
