City takes first step toward expanding servicing

Official plan to be reworded in a move that could help solve land shortage and attract major employers to region

City council voted a final time Monday night to reword part of Peterborough’s Official plan to keep open the possibility of extending municipal water, sewer and utility services into neighbouring townships.

At a city council meeting, council unanimously — and without discussion or debate — approved the new wording.

The idea is to attract new industrial employers to the area.

Peterborough lacks available land for such an employer but has capacity to extend its services into adjacent townships (where there is vacant land but no water or sewer servicing available).

There’s a snag, however. Peterborough’s official plan has a clause — 6.1.7 — that prohibits the extension of municipal services beyond the city boundary except to serve cityowned facilities, such as the Peterborough Airport, which is owned by the city but sits on land in Cavan Monaghan Township.

Now city council wants to remove that snag.

Under the official plan rewrite, clause 6.1.7 would remain, but with a new proviso attached.

The proviso would allow the city to make an official plan amendment to potentially extend municipal services beyond its own boundaries, “if it is demonstrated that a mutually beneficial development opportunity exists to support the economic development of both the city and a neighbouring municipality,” the wording states.

There was currently no specific proposal before city council on Monday for cross-border servicing.

Peterborough lacks available land for such an employer but has capacity to extend its services into adjacent townships