March 4th Committee of Adjustment
March 12th 26th Session of Council
March 20th Cataraqui Conservation Strategic Committee
March 26th 27th Session of Council
March 27th Cataraqui Conservation
March 4th Committee of Adjustment
Public Meeting
D13-021-2023 - 114 Creighton Drive - Jason Norris - Minor Variance
D13-022-2023 - 116 Creighton Drive - Jason Norris - Minor Variance
D13-001-2024 - 425 MacDonald Lane - Leyzack & McWilliam - Application for Permission
All were approved and forwarded to Council
Decision
Request for Consent Certificate of Cancellation - 5919 County Road 2 - Douglas Hogan
Approved and forwarded to Council
You can view the Committee of Adjustment meeting on YouTube including the Agenda Package
March 12th 26th Session of Council
Presentations
Inspector Dave Tovell, Detachment Commander of the Lennox and Addington Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) East Region provided an update to Council regarding staffing, calls for service, community and campaign initiatives, investigative excellence, and operational pressures at the OPP Detachment. The Odessa OPP detachment is open to the public.
Items for Consideration
• 2024-2027 Strategic Plan – The Strategic Plan was approved and will be presented at Community Town Halls in April and May at five locations in Loyalist Township.
• Council established its Committees and approved a new Committee Framework and Citizen Appointment Policy - The new committees include the W.J. Henderson Recreation Centre Renewal Fundraising Committee, Community Grant Committee and re-established Heritage Committee. A call for applications is open. Application forms will be available on the Township website and at the Municipal office. Options for Committees of Council.
• Extension of Capacity Allocation Lakeside Gardens Phase 3- Brookland Fine Homes Ltd. Amherstview Council granted an extension of capacity allocation to the subject property for the development of Lakeside Gardens Phase 3 condominium development.
• The Township's Official Plan Comprehensive Review was approved in 2022 and the Planning Act requires the Zoning By-law to be amended within three years of revising the Official Plan to ensure conformity with the Official Plan. Council’s authorization allows staff to commence a comprehensive review of the by-law.
• Proposed Changes to the Municipal Class Environmental Assessment (MCEA) Currently municipal infrastructure projects are subject to the MCEA process. The MCEA is an approved EA process for municipal roads, water, wastewater, and transit projects.
• Council passed two motions (1) Requesting the Province to amend Blue Box Regulation for ‘Ineligible’ Sources and (2) Regarding solutions to resolve significant financial and budgetary pressures relating to infrastructure development, maintenance and repairs.
Items approved through the Consent Agenda
• Drinking Water Systems 2023 - Annual Summary Report
Approved February 27, 2024 Minutes Committee of the Whole
Odessa Public School Traffic Concerns on North and Durham Streets Staff and Constable Woodburn provided an overview of the report, traffic assessments and the traffic count. Council directed staff to bring forward an updated policy and by-law for community safety zones and updated Parking By-law. Staff will report back on the results of the road safety audit and traffic study.
Framework for a New Community Grant Policy Staff will consult the community through a survey and Community Engagement Framework. Comments received by the Committee of the Whole and from the public will be incorporated into a draft Renewable Energy Community Grant Policy. This policy will be presented at the April 23, 2024 Council meeting. The policy is to include a minimum of 25% of renewable energy funds to go to the affected communities now and in the future.
Asset Retirement Obligations Policy A new accounting regulation has now come into force for the 2023 financial year. In order to comply with this new regulation the municipality must adopt this policy.
You can view the highlights from the Council and Committee of the Whole meeting on YouTube To view the full Council Meeting including Agenda Package Presentations https://loyalist.civicweb.net/document/194498/?splitscreen=true&media=true
March 20th Cataraqui Conservation Stategic Planning Committee
The committee received the first draft from the consultants on the new strategic plan. Changes and updates were suggested to the draft plan and it was submitted for approval to the whole board on March 27th.
March 23rd WJ Henderson Recreation Centre Renewal
I attended the groundbreaking for the WJ Henderson Recreation Centre Renewal. It was a well attended event with past reeves, mayors, councillors and local dignitaries attending. The ice is out and the work has begun with trailers and contractors on site. I will provide updates as they become available.
March 26th 27th Session of Council
Statutory Public Meeting
Items under the Planning Act Public Meeting - Official Plan Amendment (D09-003-2023) and Zoning By-law Amendment (D14-016- 2023) - 4800 County Road 2 The purpose of the Official Plan Amendment and Zoning By-law Amendment applications are required to support a future consent application to create one new rural residential lot from the subject property municipally known as 4800 County Road 2. Council approved the Official Plan Amendment and the Zoning By-Law Amendment.
Items For Consideration
The following grants were approved by Council through the Community Benefit Grant Fund (Windlectric) and the Community Vibrancy Fund (Kingston Solar GP). For more detail see the Agenda Package from the link below.
Community Grant Fund
Amherst Island Men’s Society $2500 subject to reporting of funds received in 2022 and 2023
Waterside Summer Series Music Festival $4,740
Amherst Island Recreation Association $7500
Amherstview Lions Club $5000
Bath Gardening Club and Horticultural Society $2,070 in-kind services from Loyalist Township and $3,000 grant
Bath Seniors Hospitality Club $750
Loyalist Community Sharing Centre $950
Limestone District School Board (Bath Public School) $5000
Live Music Sundays $3600 in-kind services from Loyalist Township and $3,000 grant subject to reporting be received
Odessa Agricultural Society $5000
Odessa Public School $3500
Torrent Productions $5000
Renewable Energy Benefit Fund
Amherst Island Agricultural Society $202,894 with $188,088 from the Community Benefit Contributions (Windlectric) and $14,806 from the Community Vibrancy Fund Contributions (Kingston Solar GP)
Amherst Island Radio $75,000 grant and $51,550 as a loan with the same terms and conditions as the previous loan provided to the applicant.
• An additional allocation of $42,217 to complete the proposed scope of work by July 2024 and additional cost be funded by Development Charges for the Amherstview West Secondary Plan.
• The Township received a special PILT - One Time Municipal Mitigation Payment which is funding from the Provincial Government. This mainly applies to the Federal prison which is located within Loyalist Township in Millhaven. The federal government continued to take advantage of this lower tax rate for other commercial properties in 2021, 2022 and 2023. The financial impact of this decision over the course of the three years is $665,377.
• Loyalist Estates Phase 10 Plan of Subdivision- Assumption of One Foot Reserves The subject lands are technically landlocked due to the presence of a 1 foot reserve located on the north end of Country Club Drive and the entrance to Royal Oak Crescent created with the registration of the Loyalist Estates Phase 10 subdivision. By-law 2024-39 assumes the reserves listed as a portion of a public street.
• Reduced Load Period Proposed By-law Change This by-law permits for the change of the reduced load period default dates and authorizes staff to have the flexibility to adjust the reduced load period prior to or extend beyond the onset and removal dates in accordance with changing weather conditions.
• 2024 Hot Mix Paving Program (Addendum) Council provided authority to the CAO and Mayor to enter into a Letter of Amendment with the County of Lennox and Addington and GIP Paving Inc. for the 2024 Hot Mix Paving Program.
2024 Tax Rate By-law
At the budget meeting, Council approved a Township tax rate increase of 4.7% and an overall tax rate increase of 3.4% after incorporating County and school levy requirements. These new rates amount to an overall increase of about $11.43 per month for the median residential taxpayer with an assessment value of $260,000.
Items approved through the Consent Agenda
2023 Council Remuneration Report
Sewage Treatment Facilities 2023 Annual Reports
Building Activity Report - February 2024
Sanitary Collection System 2023 Annual Report
You can view the highlights from the Council and Committee of the Whole meeting on YouTube To view the full Council Meeting including Agenda Package Presentations https://loyalist.civicweb.net/document/195828/?splitscreen=true&media=true
March 27th Cataraqui Conservation
The following reports/updates were received and approved
Acting General Managers Monthly Report
Updates on Provincial Regulation Changes
Water Control Assessment Update
Proposed Capital Budget Project
CRCA Environmental Policy Statement
Strategic Planning Update
Cataraqui Conservation information can be found at
Community Town Halls
In the interest of transparency and accountability, Loyalist has introduced Community Town Hall meetings which will be held in communities throughout the Township on a bi-annual basis. These informal meetings provide community members with an opportunity to get updates on municipal programs and projects, suggest new ideas, and ask questions of Council/Staff.
Lennox & County Council agendas and minutes can be found at
A reminder of the upcoming solar eclipse on April 8th. the county has as information primer which can be found at
CamSafe Launch
A reminder that the OPP launched CamSafe the security camera program in our township. Registering your camera with CamSafe allows the OPP to locate cameras that may be of assistance instead of going door to door in a neighbourhood looking for info. This is a totally volunteer program which is available to all residents and no cost and can be withdrawn from at anytime. . For further information go to https://www.loyalist.ca/en/news/camsafe-program-launches-in-loyalist-township.aspx or https://camsafe.ca/
A reminder that our accessible transportation web page www.loyalist.ca/accessibletransit is packed with information so please provide the link to anyone who is looking for more information. I met with some concerned members of the community about our transportation plans going forward. Discussion focused on the report "Bringing Commuter Public Transportation to Rural Kingston, Gananoque, South Frontenac, and Loyalist". We hope to be rolling out our plan in the fall.
Loyalist Township uses the CodeRED notification system to help us get important messages to you quickly when an emergency is happening. CodeRED is a notification system you can sign up for. When you subscribe you will get alerts about emergencies and other important situations happening near you. We can deliver alerts to you by phone, text, email, or TDD for the hearing impaired, depending on what you choose. To sign up go tp the following link.
Check out the following link to find to stay update with consultations going on in Loyalist and sign up for email information.
On air with CJAI 101.3 Amherst Island Radio in the noon-2:00pm time slot on Thursdays. Spinning some tunes interspersed with some local talk. If you know of any potential guests in the area who may wish to join me drop me a line! On the internet at cjai.ca
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