Municipal Comprehensive Review

Managing Growth in our Community – Simcoe County Municipal Comprehensive Review

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 What is a Municipal Comprehensive Review?

A Municipal Comprehensive Review (MCR) is a process required under the 2019 A Place to Grow: Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe and Provincial Policy Statement. It ensures that Official Plans conform with updated provincial plans and policies. A MCR results in an updated official plan which is submitted to the Province for approval.

The MCR is a specific planning process used to bring an upper tier or single tier municipal Official Plan (OP) into conformity with the Growth Plan. For New Tecumseth, this means that the County of Simcoe is currently undertaking the MCR to update its Official Plan. An official plan establishes the overall land use pattern of development and environmental management in the County and sets the stage for more detailed local planning. The County MCR will impact the 16 Local Area Municipalities in the County including the Town of New Tecumseth.

Simcoe County Projected Growth Chart

 

 

Town of New Tecumseth’s Role in the MCR

The MCR will provide New Tecumseth with population and employment forecasts from 2021 to 2051, future land needs in hectares for potential boundary expansions of each of its communities (Alliston, Beeton and Tottenham), and density and intensification targets to support the County’s growth managements objectives. Further, the MCR is used as a planning instrument to update the Town’s Official Plan by bringing it into conformity with County and Provincial planning policies. The Town has been actively engaged in the County’s MCR process by providing continued feedback on County growth management forecasts and targets.

Another significant portion of the County MCR is the introduction of the Provincial Agricultural System and Natural Heritage System mapping. The mapping will result in some changes to the Town’s agricultural and environmental protection areas currently delineated in the Official Plan.

Once the MCR is completed, New Tecumseth will have to update our 2019 Official Plan to conform to the County’s Official Plan.

Growth is Coming to New Tecumseth

Updated growth figures have been released by the County in the spring of 2022. The growth figures will continue to be refined until the Province approves the County’s MCR work as part of an update to its Official Plan.

 

In order to support the proposed growth, the Town has been provided with a draft density target for new development areas of 55 people/jobs per hectare. This is an increase from the current Official Plan target of 50 people/jobs per hectare.  Increased density and intensification results in the effective use of infrastructure and reduces the amount of sprawl onto agricultural lands.

The Town’s intensification target of 40% for the existing boundaries of Alliston, Beeton and Tottenham will remain the same.

What does this look like on the ground?

Many of New Tecumseth’s current developments are building out between 50 and 55 people/jobs per hectare. Just look at Treetops, Belterra, Mattamy, Rayville and LRG. Density comes in many forms from smaller single detached dwellings, semi-detached, townhouses and low-medium rise apartments.

The intensification target is Town-wide so that means that different intensification objects for Alliston, Beeton and Tottenham are fine, provided that the overall target of 40% is achieved. Intensification can also be looked at infill and redevelopment of properties/buildings into the existing community. Several condominiums and apartments of Vista Blue, Patterson/Main, Banting Square and Boyne River are all contributing to achieving this target.