At a Special Council Meeting, Belleville Council approved the request from the owners of Black Bear Ridge Village for council’s support the application for a Minister’s Zoning Order (MZO) from the Ontario government because they will be developing a fully serviced resort area which will require the extension of urban services, and an approved MZO would allow the development to bypass public consultation on the zoning changes being requested and the decision cannot be appealed to the Ontario Land Tribunal.
Once issued, the Minister’s Zoning Order (MZO) prevails in case of a conflict with the local zoning bylaw or interim control by-law and is deemed a local zoning by-law passed by Council except for the purposes of section 24 of the Planning Act.
An MZO being issued would just be the first step in what would be a long planning process involving noise, traffic, environmental impact, and other studies, and public input will be part of the process leading up to an eventual draft plan of subdivision. The developers told council they will be setting up a formal public input process after receiving an MZO.
Council heard deputations in support of the project from:
- Alex Sharpe representing Black Bear Ridge GP Inc. and Mike Pettigrew of the Biglieri Group
- MP Shelby Kramp-Neumann appeared at the special council meeting saying the concept was very impressive and would bring a lot of benefits and would be “a real win for the community.”
- Representing MPP Todd Smith, David Joyce said the Black Bear Ridge Resort Village would bring a variety of housing to the area at various price points, boost sustainable tourism, and bring more economic prosperity while protecting the natural environment.
- Stan Bigford, Chief Financial Officer at Trenton Cold Storage representing the owners of the former Corby Distillery lands, said they’d been waiting for such a development in the area and were “excited about it.”
- Dug Stevenson, Executive Director of the Bay of Quinte Regional Marketing Board
The Master Concept Plan proposed the following land uses:
- Low Density Residential (64.48ha)
- Medium Density Residential (23.95ha)
- Parks and Open Space (31.03ha)
- Golf Course (79.22ha)
- Resort & Entertainment (10.89ha)
- Resort Accommodations (7.1ha)
- Event Space (6.61ha)
- Stormwater management facilities (2.64ha)
- Environmental protection areas (107.87ha)
You know this is going to be a complete community where everyone is part of it. This project benefits everybody in Belleville. It provides more housing, it provides more recreational amenities, it provides more free opportunities, it brings more services to a part of the city that we desperately need and it’s good on so many levels. It’ll be very, very difficult for people to find something to be unhappy about with this decision.
Mayor Mitch Panciuk
Why an MZO?
Belleville was in the final stages of approving its new Official Plan. Using an MZO allowed the developer to secure support and have new policies incorporated into the OP before it received final Ministerial approval, ensuring immediate alignment.
The staff report pointed out that the province was handing out MZOs at the time:
It is unknown at this time for how long the Province will continue to issue Minister’s Zoning Orders (MZOs) and therefore, there is some urgency to this report if Council wishes to endorse Black Bear Ridge GP Inc.’s request to endorse a Minister’s Zoning Order (MZO).
It also bypassed requirements to:
- Notify the public
- Align with the Official Plan
- Align with the Provincial Planning Statement
- Consult with the public
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