Cavan Monaghan staff recommend support for cross-border services
Cavan Monaghan Township staff is recommending the municipality support a Peterborough Official Plan amendment that would allow cross-border services with neighbouring townships “under certain circumstances.”
This comes from a report Cavan Monaghan councillors will receive at its regular meeting on Monday.
The report, from Karen Ellis, township director of planning, says the township received a notice from Peterborough on Feb. 13 for a proposed Official Plan amendment that would add flexibility to extend municipal utility services, sanitary sewer and water supply beyond the city boundary.
Currently, the policy does not permit extension of city services beyond the city boundary except to serve city-owned facilities.
The change could potentially attract new industrial employers to the area.
“The city notice indicates that the City of Peterborough has exhausted its supply of serviced employment lands," says Ellis, in her report.
“The city has water and wastewater infrastructure capacity to accommodate new development and has plans to expand capacity to meet future growth needs, but has limited opportunity to develop new employment lands within the city limits,” she says.
The city’s proposed official plan amendment says the city may consider the extension of services beyond the city boundary on a case-by-case basis, “where it is demonstrated that a mutually beneficial development opportunity” exists.
Ellis is recommending the township support the change, but reply to the city with two requests.
One is that the proposed amendment includes a requirement for a motion of support from the municipality in which the development opportunity is located before the city considers a service extension.
“Township staff believe that the municipality in which a development proposal is located should have input into a decision related to cross-border servicing,” reads the report.
Secondly, they would like to see the city establish and publish guidelines for the evaluation of “mutually beneficial development opportunities."
The guidelines would help inform development proponents, members of the public, city and township staff and council about general expectations for projects, the report states.
Ellis says in November, 2021, Cavan Monaghan Township sent a letter to the City of Peterborough with comments about the city’s proposed Official Plan.
The letter included a specific request for the city to amend the policy framework to permit the consideration of cross-border servicing for regionally significant employment related projects.
“Council should continue to support this position,” says Ellis.