Quinte West City Council approved the updated Official Plan on Monday.
Some of the significant updates to the plan include the expansion of urban boundaries and the intensification of housing in existing residential areas.
When it comes to the expansion of urban boundaries, under the new plan it would include expansion to the west side of Trenton that would accommodate 1312 residential units, lands around Frankford to accommodate 200 residential units and lands in South Sidney which will accommodate 80 residential units.
Director of Planning and Development Services Brian Jardine explains how those locations are determined through the Official Plan update process.
“We have to determine whether or not we need to expand the urban boundaries to be able to capture enough land for projected growth for the next 25 years,” Jardine explained to Quinte News.
“So once we do those calculations, we determine that there’s opportunity for boundary expansion, then we look at the most appropriate locations for that.”
The update also calls for the intensification of housing.
This includes an amendment to intensification targets, with Ontario calling for the Trenton urban area to be increased from 10% to 20%.
Policies on “additional dwelling units” were also revised after the Ontario government’s passing of Bill 23 on November 28, 2022.
The bill allows three additional dwelling units where the area is serviced by municipal water and sewage systems.
Two of those units can inside the primary dwelling while the one unit can be allowed in an ancillary building.
There is a minimum density requirement of 25 units per net hectare for residential greenfield development.
According to the report, the minimum density requirement is to help develop a more compact urban form and to also encourage a wider range of residential development including townhouses and apartments.
“You’re seeing more compact developments, more affordable developments happening on smaller parcels of land,” Jardine tells Quinte News.
“You’re seeing opportunities for different forms of development apartments, higher density developments, so it’s all about making the best use of resources, best use of land, the best use of infrastructure.”
An update to the plan is expected to be completed 10 years after the initial completion then every five years afterwards.
More on the updated official plan can be found here.
The updated Official Plan will be submitted to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing for final approval.
