Pierre Dufresne, of Cavanagh Construction addressed the Committee regarding how the Town is going to accommodate population projections with the available land supply. He encouraged the Committee to adopt the most intense level of growth available in order to meet the growing demand for housing. He also spoke about the economics of the current demand for housing in Ontario and the role that this plays in housing prices.
Niki Dwyer, Director of Development Services provided a summary of the process to date that led to the development of the draft Official Plan. Although this information was previously provided to the former Council, this session was held to inform new members of Council as well as to review the matter for existing members.
Director Dwyer reviewed her report with the Committee and throughout the day, members of the Committee were able to ask questions and make comments on the draft document. Items of discussion included, managing residential density, potential areas available for infill development as well as the impacts of future growth numbers from the County of Lanark.
A lunch break was held at 11:40 a.m. and the Committee reconvened at 1:00 p.m.
At the end of the afternoon's discussions, the following motions were considered.