Dwayne Tapp, Director of Stouffville’s Development Services department, recently submitted a memorandum to Council announcing Staff’s decision to defer adoption of the Town’s new Official Plan. It was scheduled for approval this Wednesday.
The move follows a recent statement from local MPP and Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Paul Calandra, saying the Ontario government will retract changes they imposed on numerous regional and municipal Official Plans.
“This legislation [will] wind back provincial changes to Official Plans…except in circumstances where construction has begun or where doing so would contravene existing provincial legislation and regulation,” Calandra’s statement explained. “This includes winding back changes to urban boundaries.”
York Region’s most recent Official Plan update was approved by the Province on November 4, 2022, however numerous last minute changes were made by the Ontario government prior to approval.
Notably, the Province shifted all of Stouffville’s remaining whitebelt lands within the Town’s urban boundaries, opening up an additional 268 hectares of agricultural lands for development.
Calandra is also reviewing his government’s Ministerial Zoning Orders (MZO) amidst increased scrutiny. MZOs facilitated permissions and approvals for FLATO development projects on Town whitebelt lands; however, Calandra has suggested few if any MZO revisions are likely.
Ontario’s review leaves the Region’s Official Plan in limbo, and Stouffville’s Official Plan must conform to it.
“In light of the uncertainty regarding the future status of the York Region Official Plan, specifically urban boundaries, staff have made the decision to defer the adoption of the Town’s new Official Plan until there is further clarity,” Tapp states in his memorandum.
Adoption of the Town’s Official Plan will be rescheduled at a later date, and more information will be provided to Council when there is greater clarity regarding the impacts of the Province’s review.
Residents can learn more about the Town’s new Official Plan here. The final draft Official Plan maps can be found here, which show only minor changes from those included in our article linked above.
