By: Sylene Argent, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Essex Free Press

Council for the Town of Essex approved an additional budget allocation of $36,993.38, including non-refundable HST, to fund a change order for additional consulting services required to complete the Town’s New Official Plan (OP).

The funds will come from the Development Charge Reserve.

Essex’s new OP is an overarching document that sets out land-use and development policies for the next 25-years. Through the document, policies are set for growth and development.

The OP was created in 2009 and updated in 2015. Council initiated a New OP in 2022. They have to be reviewed every five-years. The Town is currently preparing its new OP.

In the fall of 2024, however, a majority Essex Council voted to tap the brakes on adopting the draft OP, giving Town Administration direction to complete a second phase to the project prior to its adoption.

That included completing a Local Settlement Area Review, meant to determine the opportunities and constraints associated with Town of Essex land-use designations, particularly Primary and Secondary Settlement Areas, and the appropriateness of the current settlement areas to accommodate the forthcoming growth, and the Colchester Secondary Plan.

Just last month, the results of work completed on the Colchester Secondary Plan and LSAR were presented at the Town’s open house hosted at the Essex Centre Sports Complex.

In speaking to the additional costs, Rita Jabbour, Manager of Planning Services, explained that since the initiation of phase two, there were several additional and extended tasks that have emerged that exceeded the original 2024 budget scope. That included enhanced consultation with the County of Essex regarding the Settlement Area Review – including an in-person workshop scheduled for July 29, and additional Council meetings, including preparations for a progress update to Council planned for August 2026.

Also included are: consultant in-person attendance at future statutory public meetings and the final adoption meeting – both planned for the fall, and the preparation of the memorandum regarding Bill 98 implications to the OP.

Councillor Kim Verbeek knows staff have done a lot of public consultation on the OP. She wondered if that window is now closed. Jabbour noted staff are accepting comments until the end of July, so they can be included as part of the statutory public meeting. Even at that meeting, members of the public can appear as a delegate or provide written comments. Input will be accepted until final adoption of the plan.

In answering Councillor Katie McGuire-Blais’s question on whether Council has to approve the funding, CAO Kate Giurissevich explained Council could deny the funding, but that would pause the project until the next Term of Council. She did not recommend that avenue, as the Town is in the middle of public engagement and often pushing back projects costs more in the long-run.

McGuire-Blais commented that when Council defers something in the future, it would be good to know what the costs will be, and from where the funds would come. Had Council known the price tag would have been an additional $40,000 at the time of taking the pause in passing the OP to conduct the extra studies, perhaps that decision may have had a different outcome.

Mayor Sherry Bondy supported the additional funds, noting the Town had a robust OP process. Since the process started, she said there were a few significant weather events that have impacted Colchester South. She wanted to take the time to study the area.

In total, Council has approved a budget of $246,958.09 for the OP project.