Amendment No. 1 To The Official Plan For The Town of Atikokan
Amendment No. 1 To The Official Plan For The Town of Atikokan INDEX The Constitutional Statement 3 Part A - The Preamble 4 Purpose of the Amendment 4 Location of the Amendment 4 Basis of the Amendment "4 Part B The Amendment 6 Schedule A 7 Part C - Appendices 8 Page 2 of 8 December 14, 2009
Constitutional Statement The following Amendment to the Official Plan of the Town of Atikokan consists of three parts. Part A Part B The Preamble consists of the purpose, location and basis of the Amendment does not constitute part of the Amendment. The Amendment, consisting of the following text and schedule constitutes Amendment No. 1 to the Official Plan of the Town of Atikokan. Part C The Appendices consisting of the background reports and planning considerations associated with this Amendment does not constitute this Amendment. part of Page 3 of 8 December 14, 2009
Amendment No. 1 To the Official Plan for The Town of Atikokan Part A - The Preamble 1.0 Purpose of the Amendment The purpose of this Official Plan Amendment is to amend a minimum lot size regulation in the Resource Development area on certain lands, with water frontage on Lerome Lake in the Town of Atikokan. The amendment will change the minimum lot size for residential lot development from 1.0 hectare to 0.8 hectare provided that the average lot area of this development is no less than 1 hectare. The amendment will allow the subdivision of the subject lands into 13 waterfront residential lots. 2.0 Location of Amendment This amendment affects certain lands on the northeast shoreline of Lerome Lake within the Municipality of Atikokan. 3.0 Basis of Amendment - The Official Plan for the Town of Atikokan was adopted by Atikokan Council on March 18, 2002 and approved by the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing on May 12, 2004. o The subject lands are designated Resource Development Area where rural residential uses are contemplated and residential subdivision on private services are permitted. a Cottage lot development has been identified by the Town as an important opportunity to address the economic downturn experienced by the Town over the last ten years (mine closures, forest product industry downturn and pending closure of the Ontario Power Generation facility). Page 4 of 8 December 14, 2009
o Atikokan s Economic Development Plan set priorities for the Town and the Province (MNR)to work together for cottage lot development in support of economic development. 0 MNRanalyzed three lakes in the area and identified Lerome Lake capable of supporting cottage lot development. MNRproceeded with the disposition of crown land on Lerome Lake using the Resource Stewardship and Facility Development process. The development of the subject lands for 13 cottage lots was filtered against requirements such as lakeshore capacity assessments, habitat/terrestrial assessments, groundwater quality/ quantity testing and site servicing analysis. 0 The proposed 13 cottage lots can be serviced with private services with minimum lot sizes of 0.8 hectares provided that the average lot size of the development is no less than 1 hectare. Municipal standard roads will provide access to the 13 lots with limited impacts on the environment. - The Provincial Policy Statement recognizes that rural areas can be developed for rural land uses and the proposed development of waterfront residential is considered to be a rural land use consistent with the Policy Statement. The Provincial Policy Statement indicates that long-term economic prosperity should be supported by optimizing the long-term availability and use of land and resources. The subject site of the proposed subdivision is not located in an area that is sensitive hydrogeologically and a hydrogeological assessment is not required. The minimum lot area average of 1.0 hectare for the proposed subdivision and the groundwater quality and quality testing that was conducted in the area generally ensures that groundwater quality can be preserved. o A Cultural Heritage Assessment and Habitat Assessment have been completed and ensure that the built heritage resources and natural heritage sites will be conserved. o The cottage lot development conforms with the policy direction of the Provincial Policy Statement regarding rural areas. The subject lands are suitable for waterfront lots and there is policy support and direction at the local and provincial levels of government for this type of rural land use. - The cottage lot development will be consistent with the Resource Development and Rural Residential policies of the Official Plan once the minimum lot size for this site is changed from 1.0 hectare to 0.8 hectare. Page 5 of 8 December 14, 2009
Part B - The Amendment The Official Plan for the Town of Atikokan is hereby amended as follows. 1. Section 4.2 Resource Development Area is amended by adding the following section: Exceptions 4.2.25 EX-RD-1 Notwithstanding the minimum lot size policy requirement of 1.0 hectare as set out in Section 4.2.6 (b) for rural residential lots in a Resource Development Area a minimum lot area of 0.8 hectares for a 13 lot rural residential development shall apply to lands on Lerome Lake and identifiedin Schedule A to this amendment and more specifically described as part of Unsurveyed Territory Municipal Township ofatikokan, District of Rainy River - Latitude N 48 44 and Longitude W 91 44 provided that the average lot area of this development is no less than 1 hectare. Page 6 of 8 December 14, 2009
Schedule A... Page 7 of 8 December. 14, 2009
Part C - The Appendices The attached hereto does not constitute part of this amendment. The Appendix contains planning considerations and public involvement associated with the Amendment. Page 8 of 8 December 14, 2009