January 15, 2024 – PWEP files Statement of Concern regarding Inverhuron Land Use Designation with Bruce County and the Municipality of Kincardine

Jan 16, 20243 min read

Friends,

We hope you had a good start into 2024!

We have submitted a Statement of Concern regarding the current land use designation of Inverhuron to the Municipality of Kincardine and the County of Bruce. You can read our letter below outlining our concerns.

This is important: if the Primary/Secondary Settlement designation is allowed to stand, we fear that Inverhuron will be overrun by large-scale developments such as the Tidman and Sundance projects. Our long-term goal is to safeguard Inverhuron's natural environment by putting forward an alternative land use designation proposal. Stay tuned.

In the meantime you can submit your own comments regarding this matter to the municipality, as well as to the County of Bruce (see contact information below). If you wish to be kept informed of the Bruce County Official Plan review process, you can sign up at the following link:

https://www.planthebruce.ca/official-plan

On a separate matter, we have received a Notice from the municipality regarding its Community Improvement Plan (CIP). The notice is attached, for your information.

As always, thank you for your continued support.

The Team @ PWEP

The Philosopher's Wool Environmental Preserve

2 Alma Street

Tiverton, ON

pwepreserve@gmail.com

www.pwepreserve.ca

Respectfully acknowledging that we live, work and benefit from the Lands and Waters of the Saugeen Ojibway Nation.

PWEP Statement of Concern re: Inverhuron Land Use Designation

To the Bruce County Planning and Development Department

And

The Municipality of Kincardine

January 11, 2024

The Philosopher’s Wool Environmental Preserve (PWEP) is concerned about the current land use designation of Inverhuron.

The Bruce County Official Plan (BC OP) states that Inverhuron is designated as a Primary Urban Community. PWEP is concerned that putting Inverhuron on par with much larger urban hubs such as Walkerton, Kincardine and Port Elgin would put undue stress on the natural heritage features of the area, especially since “up to 80% of new development will take place in Primary and Secondary Settlement Areas” (BC OP p. 21).

The BC OP further states that “Housing intensification shall be located primarily in Primary and Secondary Urban Communities and will be permitted in other built-up areas with full municipal services” (p. 21). Inverhuron does not have full municipal services, hence a primary urban community designation seems inappropriate.

PWEP generally does not support development on the scale typical for Primary Settlement areas in Inverhuron, due to expected negative impacts on the ecological function and biodiversity of natural heritage systems in the area; land use compatibility concerns; lack of infrastructure; and traffic impacts, amongst other points of concern.

We therefore intend to propose an alternative land use designation proposal, to be incorporated as an amendment in the County and Municipal Official Plans, and look forward to working with County and Municipal planners to address our concerns and negotiate an alternative land use designation. It is our understanding that the previous designation for Inverhuron was that of a Hamlet Community, however we asked for clarification on this point from the Bruce County Planning and Development Department, care of Ms. Coreena Smith, on December 5th 2023 and have not yet received a response.

Similarly, our request for clarification as to the current designation of Inverhuron has gone unanswered: we noted that on the Bruce County mapping system, it appears as though the settlement area is designated as Secondary, rather than Primary.

We look forward to clarification on these points, and to enter into a conversation on how to best address our concerns.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

Tessa Gerling

Manager, PWEP

The Philosopher’s Wool Environmental Preserve

2 Alma Street

Tiverton, ON

pwepreserve@gmail.com

www.pwepreserve.ca

Respectfully acknowledging that I live, work and benefit from the Lands and Waters of the Saugeen Ojibway Nation.

Contact Information for submitting questions/concerns: