Secondary Plan Update - Development Area 2

TAKE NOTICE THAT the Council of The Corporation of the City of Sarnia adopted Amendment No. 3 to the City of Sarnia Official Plan on the 12th day of February 2024 through the enactment of By-law 5 of 2024 in accordance with Sections 17 and 21 of the Planning Act, as amended.

Location
The Area 2 Secondary Plan is approximately 570 hectares in size and consists of the lands bounded by the Canadian National Railway to the south, Highway 40 to the west, Blackwell Sideroad to the east, and London Line to the north, as identified on Schedule 5A – Land Use.

Purpose and Effect
The purpose of this Secondary Plan is to amend the City of Sarnia’s Official Plan to include the lands within Area 2 and to provide those lands with an up-to-date policy framework that will appropriately guide their future development over the time horizon of the Official Plan. The Area 2 Secondary Plan is to be fully integrated with the City of Sarnia Official Plan, and as such, all of the relevant policies of the Official Plan shall apply to the lands within Area 2 unless specifically added or modified by this Secondary Plan.

The Secondary Plan implements the principles and policies of the City of Sarnia Official Plan to guide development within Area 2, including Council’s direction with respect to the converted City-owned lands south of Wellington Street done through the Official Plan update in 2022. In addition, Council changed the proposed designation of the Western Sarnia-Lambton Research Park on Schedule 5A – Land Use from Prestige Employment and Prestige Employment Special Policy Area to General Employment.

The amendment deletes the existing Schedule “5” Area 2 Secondary Plan from the Official Plan and replaces it with Schedule “5A” Area 2 Secondary Plan – Land Use Plan, Schedule “5B” Area 2 Secondary Plan Natural Heritage System and Schedule “5C” Area 2 Secondary Plan – Roads and Active Transportation Plan.

The amendment also deletes Section 5.8 Area 2 Secondary Plan from the Official Plan and replaces it with a new Section 5.8 as outlined in the amendment.

Written and Oral Submissions
Council in making its decision on these matters took into consideration all written and oral comments received on the applications.

Public Access to Information
For more information or to review the Council-adopted Area 2 Secondary Plan, visit https://www.speakupsarnia.ca/development-area-2, contact the Planning Department, Community Services Division, 3rd Floor, City Hall, 255 Christina Street North, Sarnia during business hours (Tel. 519 332- 0330); or email planning@sarnia.ca.

Approval Process
The Area 2 Secondary Plan, as adopted by Sarnia City Council, is being forwarded to the County of Lambton (the approval authority) for approval.

Any person or public body will be entitled to receive notice of the approval authority’s decision if a written request to be notified of the decision (including the person’s or public body’s address, fax number, or email address) is made to the approval authority.

Requests Should Be Sent To
The Corporation of the County of Lambton
Planning & Development Services
PO Box 3000
789 Broadway Street Wyoming, ON N0N 1T0
E-mail: planning@county-lambton.on.ca Telephone: 519 845-0801
Fax: 519 845-3817

Under the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.P.13, as amended, the Corporation of the City of Sarnia will hold a Public Meeting on Monday, October 16th, 2023, at 1:00 PM in the Council Chambers to present and receive public input regarding a proposed amendment to the City’s Official Plan.

The City has initiated an update to the Development Area 2 (DA2) Secondary Plan, the City’s largest greenfield area designated to accommodate future growth. The Secondary Plan area is approximately 570 hectares and is bounded by the Canadian National Railway to the south, Highway 40 to the west, Blackwell Sideroad to the east, and London Line to the north. The update is intended to implement the modernized land use framework from the Official Plan update, which converted approximately 34 hectares of employment land south of Wellington Street within DA2 for mixed-use and residential purposes.

How to Participate

You are invited to view these meetings online at https://www.sarnia.ca/council-meetings/. You can also participate by submitting comments and/or speaking during the public meetings. You may submit comments by email to planning@sarnia.ca, mail to City of Sarnia, c/o Community Services Division, 255 Christina Street North, P.O. Box 3018, Sarnia ON N7T 7N2, or place them in the mail slot on the right-hand side of the Christina Street North entrance to City Hall.

To ensure your comments are included in the City Council Agenda on any of the above, comments must be received by Noon, Friday, September 29, 2023.

Speaking at the Public Meeting

You may participate in the public meeting in person or virtually. If you wish to participate in the public meeting, we encourage you to pre-register with the Clerks Department by email to clerks@sarnia.ca or by phone at 519-332-0330 ext. 3320.

Instructions for participating in the meeting virtually will be provided following registration and online at https://www.sarnia.ca/virtualsarnia/ under Public Meetings.

Collection of Personal Information

Please be aware that if you submit correspondence to the City of Sarnia regarding an application, your name and communications may become part of the record available to the public under the Planning Act and the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. For more information on this collection, please visit www.speakupsarnia.ca.

If you wish to be notified of the decision of the Sarnia City Council on any of the above-noted applications, you must make a written request to:

City of Sarnia

c/o Community Services Division

255 Christina Street North,

P.O. Box 3018, Sarnia ON N7T 7N2

Join us for the fourth Public Information Session on Monday, July 24, 2023, from 4:00 - 5:30 pm at the Clearwater Arena, Lower Hall.

This Public Information Session will include a presentation to describe the Secondary Plan and the supporting Urban Design Guidelines. A presentation will be made at 4:00 pm, followed by a discussion of the preferred plan and an opportunity to ask questions.

The process to update the Secondary Plan included a review of existing and planned development, analyzing the commercial market and reviewing natural heritage conditions to identify key directions that shaped optional development concepts. An evaluation of optional development concepts determined the preferred land use concept for which an illustrative demonstration plan and design guidelines have been prepared.

Join us Wednesday, November 23 from 4:00-6:00pm at the Clearwater Arena, Lower Hall for the third Public Information Session.

The third Public Information Session will include a presentation to describe the results of the evaluation of land use options, and the preferred land use, transportation and servicing option for Area 2. A presentation will be made at 4:00pm followed by a discussion of the preferred plan and an opportunity to ask questions.

The process to update the Secondary Plan includes a review of existing and planned development, an analysis of the commercial market and review of natural heritage conditions to identify key directions that will shape optional development concepts. An evaluation of optional development concepts will determine a preferred land use concept for which an illustrative demonstration plan and design guidelines will be prepared.

The final phase of the process is the preparation of the Secondary Plan policies and mapping that will guide development in Area 2.

The second Community Information Meeting will be held on October 13th from 4:00-6:00pm at the Clearwater Arena, Lower Hall to describe the land use and transportation options being considered for the Area. A presentation will be made at 4:00 pm followed by a discussion of the options and an opportunity to ask questions.

The process to update the Secondary Plan includes a review of existing and planned development, an analysis of the commercial market and review of natural heritage conditions to identify key directions that will shape optional development concepts. An evaluation of optional development concepts will determine a preferred land use concept for which an illustrative demonstration plan and design guidelines will be prepared. The final phase of the process is the preparation of the Secondary Plan policies and mapping that will guide development in Area 2.

Join us Tuesday, July 26 from 4:30-7:00pm at the Clearwater Arena, Lower Hall for a Public Information Session.

The City has initiated an update to the Development Area 2 Secondary Plan, Development Area 2 (DA2) includes the lands generally bounded by London Line to the north, CN Rail line to the south, Modeland Road to the west and Blackwell Sideroad to the east.

Presentations will be made at 4:30pm and 6:00pm that highlight the understanding of existing conditions and the key directions that will shape the preparation of optional development concepts for Phase II. Each presentation will be followed by a discussion of the key directions and an opportunity to ask questions.

The Commercial Land Needs Assessment will complete an analysis of the commercial market to inform amount, type and location of commercial uses required to support Development Area 2 and the broader community.

How do you plan to access goods and services in Sarnia, following pandemic restrictions will you return to your normal consumer routines? Will you make more of your purchases online? How important is shopping 'local' to you? Fill out the survey to let us know.

The information collected with help make informed decisions that will strengthen the shape and character of Sarnia's commercial areas, including shops, services and restaurants.