Saugeen Shores council is deferring a decision on a new way of approving downtown residential development until after the October municipal election.
The Town has been looking at moving to a Community Planning Permit System in the downtown areas of Port Elgin and Southampton.
Consultants from Gladki Planning Associates told a public meeting in June, the CPPS would be a streamlined system instead of the current zoning bylaw and site-plan control bylaw in those areas, and maybe the rest of Saugeen Shores in the future.
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.”
Back in June, and again on July 13th, well-attended public meetings were held and many residents expressed concerns about the potential for increased development to change the look and feel of the downtowns through densification.
Vice Deputy mayor Mike Myatt moved the motion last week to defer a decision on a CPPS saying, “I just think we’re not ready.”
Mayor Luke Charbonneau agreed, saying, “I’d hoped by the time we got to this point, we would hear a stronger argument on the housing piece and I just don’t hear it yet.”
He says he would like to hear more about how it could help housing. “Give me a CPPS that gets us some affordable housing, that’s what I want, and then I’ve heard form members of the public, they want a CPPS that speaks more to heritage, they want a CPPS that speaks more to the environment, several things.”
Charbonneau continued, “What the Town of Saugeen Shores is trying to do here is do innovative things to advance housing. You see the things and they’re all tough conversations whether it’s the affordable housing projects we’re building, other regulatory changes we’re making, but that’s what we’re trying to do is be a leader on this, because we believe being a leader on that will make our community a better place for everybody.”
Staff are now directed examine how a CPPS might help to increase affordable housing in Saugeen Shores and report to the next council sometime in 2027.