The Town of Saugeen Shores has initiated a review of its Official Plan and will hold a Public Meeting and an online survey seeking input to this initiative and to understand the opinions of the public.

 

Date: Monday, August 19, 2019

Time: 6:30 – 8:30 pm

Location: Town of Saugeen Shores Municipal Office, 600 Tomlinson Drive, Port Elgin, ON

 

The purpose of the Official Plan Review is to address the requirements of the Planning Act, which requires municipalities to conduct an Official Plan Review every five years and to address Provincial plans, policies and matters of Provincial interest. The Official Plan Review is a Town-wide initiative potentially affecting all land within the Town of Saugeen Shores. GSP Group Inc. has been retained by the Town to assist Town Staff with the process.

 

The Official Plan is a statement of goals, objectives and policies to guide future growth, land use and development within the Town of Saugeen Shores for the next 20 years. The Town’s current Official Plan was approved in 2014 and has been subject to several amendments.

 

The purpose of the Public Meeting is to provide members of the public with information about the Official Plan Review process and how to participate. This is also an initial opportunity for public input to areas of the current Official Plan that should be changed or addressed differently in the new Official Plan, and to participate in shaping the future vision and direction for the Town of Saugeen Shores.

 

Anyone attending with respect to the Official Plan Review will be given an opportunity to provide comments at the Public Meeting. Additional opportunities to submit comments will be made available at other times during the Review. If you are submitting letters, faxes, e-mails, presentations or other communications to the Town concerning the Official Plan Review, personal information (such as name, address and comments) may be contained in reports to council and published on the Town’s website.

 

In addition to the Public Meeting on August 19 at 6:30 pm, the Town will be holding the following public engagement opportunities during Summer 2019:

• Cruisers Cruise Nite in Southampton, Thursday August 15, 6:30-9:00 pm. Come enjoy the classic cars and talk to us about your ideas for land use planning and development in Saugeen Shores.
• An online survey to gather respondents' top priorities, which will be used to develop a list of policies to be reviewed. Complete the survey before September 30, 2019 at saugeenshores.ca/OPReview.

Additional opportunities for public comment will be provided at later dates. Visit saugeenshores.ca/OPReview to stay up to date on the OP Review.  

For additional information or to be added to the project mailing list, please contact:

 

Jay Pausner

Supervisor, Development Services

jay.pausner@saugeenshores.ca 

519-832-2008 x120

The Town now has composters and Green Cone solar digesters available to purchase at cost.

These will be sold at the Municipal Office (600 Tomlinson Drive, Port Elgin) on Friday, August 9 and Friday, August 16, 2019 from 10 am to noon and 1 to 3 pm.

Composters are $40 each and Green Cone solar digesters are $130.

If anyone is unable to come out on these dates, we have other purchase opportunities available: visit saugeenshores.ca/Composting for more details.

SRA’s Annual Meeting will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday July 13, 2019 at Bevan Hall, adjacent to St. Paul’s Church. We have moved the location to Bevan Hall to accommodate more people. Please arrive early so you have time to register for the meeting and, if you wish, renew your membership. You may also renew via our webpage ( www.southamptonontario.org ) any time. Memberships paid in June will extend to the July, 2020 annual meeting. We are finalizing the agenda, but an interesting session on Recycling in Saugeen Shores is confirmed, and, as in past years, the business part of the meeting will be brief. 

SAVE THE DATE – Saturday, July 6th for a Donor Appreciation Cocktail Party (Donations for the Supplemental lighting system for the Playhouse) and Welcome-to-Summer get together 4 to 6 pm on Saturday, July 6th 2019 at Bruce County Museum. Music by the Mike Grace/John McLelland Duo This spring Southampton Residents Association Board of Directors committed to raise $3,000 in donations for Bruce County Playhouse to purchase a supplementary theatrical lighting system to be installed in Southampton Town Hall to enhance special lighting effects for live theatre in Saugeen Shores.  SRA will match these donations from the accumulated surplus from past Golf Tournaments to reach the total cost of just under $6,000. Accordingly we invite you (a) to contribute to this project with a donation to Bruce County Playhouse and (b) to attend the Donor Appreciation Cocktail Party outlined above.  Charitable donation receipts will be issued for the full amount of all donations. So please complete and return the attached form, SAVE THE DATE and join us, your neighbours and friends at this welcome-to-summer get-together 4 to 6 pm on July 6th at the Museum.  Thank you immensely for your donation from your fundraising committee of Carolee Fox, Jim Henning, Jayne Wickens and Chuck Wilson. Background In 2016 Southampton Residents Association (SRA) members donated $11,189 to Bruce County Playhouse (BCP) at our biennial golf tournament to pay for a basic theatre lighting system installed in the Southampton Town Hall to allow BCP to present their first full season of live theatre.  Their presentations over the past three and a half years have been a great addition to the quality of life in Saugeen Shores. During the 2018 season BCP rented auxiliary lighting in order to stage one of their plays.  This was so successful and provided so much additional flexibility that they approached SRA again to see whether we would purchase this auxiliary package.  The SRA Board enthusiastically endorses the project, and accordingly we are asking our members for donations.Donation Form.docx

“Circle the Woodland” event on Saturday, May 18^th from 3:00 – 4:00 p.m.  As mentioned in the last Update, Saugeen Shores Town Council will be deciding the outcome of the SSOPA32-18.48 application at the planning meeting on Tuesday, May 21^st.  As such, this is the LAST CHANCE to make an impression on Council as a public display of support to maintain the last significant woodland/wetland in Southampton. 

We ask that if you are in Southampton over the long weekend, that you plan to visit the subject area at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday.  Shortly after 3:00, we plan to encircle the perimeter of the subject property.  Once we have dispersed and have encircled the property, a drone will fly overhead to video all in attendance.  We plan to invite all Town Councilors to the event and will share the resulting video with them in advance of their meeting on the 21^st.

In order to make the event manageable, we are asking that all persons with Last Names that start with A through to K converge at the NORTH end of the subject property (Summerhill and Albert Street South), and those persons with Last Names that start with L through to Z converge at the SOUTH end (Cole and Albert Street South). 

Please RSVP this invitation to peacefully and respectfully show your support for our last significant woodland/wetland via email to:  bgputman@gmail.com. 

We hope to see you this Saturday!

Each year SRA members volunteer to clean up the Southampton beach. We organize this with the Town of Saugeen Shores, which provides garbage bags. The objective is to pick up garbage (paper, Styrofoam, plastic and glass) before the Town uses heavy equipment to remove driftwood and groom the beach for summer visitors. Last year our volunteers needed about 2 hours to do the job. Once again, SRA Board member Chuck Wilson is organizing the event. Please volunteer if you are able.  Remember to dress warmly and wear boots and gloves. Volunteers will gather at the big flagpole at the foot of High Street

On March 18, 2019, a Public Meeting was held by the Saugeen Shores Council to discuss an application to amend the Town’s Official Plan. The proposed amendment is intended to change Section 2.6.8.2(c) which pertains to significant woodlands on certain properties  in Southampton. As a follow-up to the Public Meeting, the Wildlife Expert and Planning Consultant representing the owners of the subject lands will be hosting an open house on Tuesday, April 9, 2019 from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. in the Southampton Town Hall to discuss the intent of the proposed amendment. Members of the public are welcome.

Notice of Complete Application and 

Notice Of Public Meeting 

Proposed Local Official Plan Amendment 

(Section 22, Planning Act, 1990) 

Take Notice that the County of Bruce and the Town of Saugeen Shores have received a complete application(s) under the Planning Act as outlined below; and 

Take Notice that a Public Meeting will be held on Monday, March 18, 2019 at 6:30 p.m., at the Town of Saugeen Municipal Building, Town of Saugeen Shores 600 Tomlinson Drive, Port Elgin, Ontario in order to consider the Planning Application.

A developer wants to open up development on the Environmental Hazardous land from Island to South St and McNab to Huron.  They are asking the Town and County to reduce the size of the designated woodland and wetland areas in this area. If the reduction in Significant Woodland, Wetland, Environmental Hazardous and Flood Pain areas are reduced as requested, these areas will likely see full residential development.  

A Public Meeting will be held on Monday, March 18, 2019 at 6:30 p.m., at the Plex, 600 Tomlinson Drive, Port Elgin, Ontario in order to consider this Planning Application. 

If you would like to add your support or comments to a petition concerning this proposal, organized by neighbors independent of the SRA, please contact: bgputman@gmail.com or ke.mcleod@hotmail.com.

For more information relating to the application, e-mail the Planning Applications Technician responsible for the file Julie Steeper jsteeper@brucecounty.on.ca. Written submissions should  also be forwarded to her by March 11, 2019 in order to be included in the Planning Report. 

On January 9, 2019, Bruce County released an RFP inviting proposals to purchase and relocate the existing building at 254 High Street (the old rectory). Proposals are due January 29^th, and the building is to be moved between April 1 and April 15. If no bids are accepted, the house will be demolished.

The RFP was released at the direction of the County’s Museum Committee, which is supervising the project to expand the Museum and Archives, a project which has been in the works for several years. The Museum Committee wants to remove the old rectory to accommodate future expansion.

The Southampton Resident’s Association views the Bruce County Museum and Archives as an important part of the Southampton community, and we understand and support the need to expand the facility in order to accommodate growth. But a lesson learned last fall was that while there was substantial support for bringing the proposed Nuclear Innovation Institute to Southampton, there was also substantial opposition to demolishing the old rectory as a necessary price to pay for progress.

Mayor Charbonneau is the Chair of the Bruce County Museum Committee. We have expressed our concerns about the removal or destruction of the old rectory to Mayor Charbonneau for the following reasons:

• ·         The building project does not require removal of the rectory at this time. In fact, the County’s original approach to St. Paul’s church was to purchase only the north end of the rectory lot, roughly the portion extending to the old garage.
• ·         The timetable for removal is unnecessarily tight, making it difficult, if not impossible, for potential bidders to respond.
• ·         Lack of publicity means that potential investors or purchasers are unaware of the opportunity to purchase and relocate an attractive house.
• ·         The old rectory is part of a historic neighborhood that will be diminished if it is removed.

We believe that a core mission of a museum is to preserve our history and interpret it for future generations. It will be a shame if that objective is met merely through some old photographs preserved in an archive. A better solution would be to come up with a more imaginative design for museum expansion that is welcoming to the neighbourhood, provides inviting public access and sightlines from Victoria Street to Fairy Lake, and incorporates a repurposed rectory building into the project.

We call on the Bruce County Museum Committee to delay the timetable outlined its RFP and consider better solutions.

In May, Bruce Power and the County of Bruce partnered to establish the Nuclear Innovation Institute (NII) as an international centre of excellence for applied research and training.

The NII presents a unique opportunity for the region to be a global host for innovative technologies, while also linking to local elementary and secondary schools, post-secondary institutions, and training centres, to provide the next generation of innovators with exciting educational, career and learning opportunities close to home.

When the project was launched, it was announced that an addition to the Bruce County Museum & Cultural Centre in Southampton was the preferred location, in order to take advantage of the expansion of the Archives. A commitment was also made that a dialogue and consultation would occur with the public on this location. Unfortunately, public debate over this location was distracting from this incredibly exciting opportunity for our region, and, in order for this to be successful, we need to have the support of the host community.

Thus, Ontario’s Nuclear Innovation Institute will not be located adjacent to the Bruce County Museum & Cultural Centre, and further site selection will continue in 2019, following appropriate siting considerations. Bruce Power recognizes the value the Museum has to the region and the company will continue to support its programs.

In the interim, while a site is being chosen and constructed, a temporary headquarters for the Institute will be established at the offices of the Organization of Canadian Nuclear Industries, at 625 Goderich St., Port Elgin starting in January 2019. This office, which also houses the Indigenous Relations Supplier Network, will allow the Institute to begin its work, while also serving as a public information centre.

Since the NII was launched in May, a number of global companies have expressed a strong desire to partner in the areas of Artificial Intelligence, cyber-security, medical and industrial isotopes, Indigenous economic development, nuclear operational excellence, and health and environmental excellence in the Lake Huron and Georgian Bay areas. It is critical we demonstrate to these companies that the Institute is supported, regardless of the location.

Next week, Bruce Power will provide more information on how the NII will support students at our local schools. It’s critical we ensure our youth have access to the best educational and career opportunities, and the Institute will provide the connections that will allow our future leaders to pursue their dreams.

Bruce Power is a company that values its positive role in the community. Advancing Ontario’s Nuclear Innovation Institute in Bruce County builds on this commitment, as we leverage the many strengths of our nuclear industry and supply chain, much of which is now based in the region.

Bruce Power and Bruce County have a long-standing and mutually beneficial relationship, and we remain committed to advancing both our partnership and this project.

For more information, visit www.nuclearinnovationinstitute.com.

About Bruce Power
Formed in 2001, Bruce Power is an electricity company based in Bruce County, Ontario. We are powered by our people. Our 4,200 employees are the foundation of our accomplishments and are proud of the role they play in safely delivering clean, reliable, low-cost nuclear power to families and businesses across the province. Bruce Power has worked hard to build strong roots in Ontario and is committed to protecting the environment and supporting the communities in which we live. Learn more at www.brucepower.com and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube.

For more information, contact:
John Peevers – Bruce Power Communications and Media Relations – john.peevers@brucepower.com – 519-361-6161

Marianne Nero – Acting CAO, County of Bruce – MNero@brucecounty.on.ca – 519-881-2952 ext. 280