Crystal Beach Secondary Plan

Update - April 29, 2021 - CBSP Appeal - Ontario Land Tribunal

The Crystal Beach Secondary Plan was passed by the Town of Fort Erie Council on November 22, 2021, as By-law No. 143-2021 (OPA) and By-law No. 144-2021 (ZBA).

The Secondary Plan was appealed. The appeals were submitted to the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) for assessment on January 27, 2022. At this stage of the appeal process, the Town is waiting for direction from the OLT. Please contact the Ontario Land Tribunal for more detailed information about the appeal process.

Update - December 23, 2021 – By-law No.143 and By-law No.144 Notification RECIRCULATION

Please find the RECIRCULATED Notice of passing of By-law No.143 and By-law No.144 at the following links:

RECIRCULATED Notification of passing of the By-laws is provided on December 23, 2021. After the notification is issued, a 20-day appeal period will follow.

Update - December 2, 2021 – By-law No.143 and By-law No.144

The By-law No. 143 to Enact an Amendment to the Official Plan Adopted by By-law No. 150-06 for The Town of Fort Erie Planning Area Amendment No. 56 and the By-law No. 144 to Amend Zoning By-law No. 129-90 to Implement Official Plan Amendment No. 56, being the Crystal Beach Secondary Plan have been passed at the Regular Council of November 22, 2021. Please find the By-laws at the following links:

Pursuant to the requirements of the Planning Act, Notification of passing of the By-laws is provided on December 2 2021. Following notification, a 20-day appeal period will follow. Please see the Notifications for more information below:

Update - October 2021 – By-law Submission to Council

The By-law to Enact an Amendment to the Official Plan Adopted by By-law No. 150-06 for The Town of Fort Erie Planning Area Amendment No. 56 and the By-law to Amend Zoning By-law No. 129-90 to Implement Official Plan Amendment No. 56, being the Crystal Beach Secondary Plan is scheduled to be submitted for approval at the Regular Council of November 22, 2021.

Pursuant to the requirements of the Planning Act, notification of passing will be given within 15 days of Council approval. Following notification, a 20-day appeal period will follow.

Update - September 13, 2021 – Crystal Beach Secondary Plan Recommendation Report

Recommendation [Report PDS-86-2021] to implement the Crystal Beach Secondary Plan was presented and approved by Council at its September 13, 2021, Committee meeting. The Report is provided below:

Update June 21, 2021 – Public Meeting

The CBSP Public Meeting was held at the June 21, 2021, Council-in-Committee Meeting. Information Report PDS-47-2021 was presented for Council consideration, and delegations participated in the Public Meeting. Public Meeting presentation material and the report are provided below:

Update - May 18, 2021 - Public Open House 3

The CBSP Public Open House Number 3 was conducted via zoom on May 18, 2021. Open House presentation material is provided below:

Update - May 5, 2021 - Let's Talk Fort Erie debut

The Crystal Beach Secondary Plan Let's Talk Fort Erie page debuted on May 5, 2021. The page helps engage and communicate with the community regarding COVID-19 restrictions. The page offers up-to-date information, a pubic survey and opportunity to provide feedback, and ongoing updates of the Secondary Plan.

Please see the 'Let's Talk Fort Erie' – Crystal Beach Secondary Plan page for further details.

Update - April 20, 2021

While the Crystal Beach Secondary Plan intended completion date was delayed in 2020 due to COVID-19 and staffing changes. The Draft Secondary Plan is now complete. The Town will initiate a final round of public consultation for review and comment before seeking final Council approval. This final public consultation process will include the following:

a meeting of the Crystal Beach Secondary Plan Community Focus Group,
a Public Open House,
a Statutory Public Meeting.

Following which, a final recommendation report will be presented to Town Council.

We encourage you to visit the 'Let's Talk Fort Erie' webpage for up-to-date Crystal Beach Secondary Plan information. The 'Let's Talk Fort Erie' webpage is where you can:

attain all available information on the project,

complete surveys,
offer your comments and feedback,
sign up for project updates,
get answers to Frequently Asked Questions,
stay up to date on the project schedule.

The information provided through ['Let's Talk Fort Erie']will be used by staff to inform the Secondary Plan process and provided in a summarized format to Council. The 'Let's Talk Fort Erie' page will open the week of May 3, 2021, and close May 31, 2021.

We are looking forward to your feedback!

Update - November 8, 2019

The Parking Study undertaken for the Crystal Beach Secondary Plan has now been completed. It is available as an Appendix to Town Administrative Report PDS-64-2019. You can access the documents with the following link.

PDS-64-2019 & Crystal Beach Parking Study 2019

This information will continue to inform staff as they work to complete a Draft Secondary Plan. Staff is aiming for a January release of the Draft with the potential for a Public Meeting in February. Once the Draft is complete, it will be posted on this site. Notification will be provided via the Town and legislative notification process. Those who have supplied e-mail contact will also receive a notice via staff.

Update - September 1, 2019

Thank you to everyone who came out to the 2nd Crystal Beach Secondary Plan Open House Meeting. It was held on August 28, 2019 at the Crystal Ridge Community Centre. Approximately 175 persons attending with many staying for the presentation.

The meeting displays and presentations are being posted here as PDF files for anyone wishing to review them again or for those who could not make the meeting.

The Town's Transportation Consultant retained for a Crystal Beach Neighbourhood Parking Study were also on hand to speak with public. Paradigm Transportation Solutions Limited have made the following study available. They encourage participation in a short online survey.

Crystal Beach Parking Study

The Town has undertaken several recent initiatives in Crystal Beach which have changed parking demand and availability, including:

Redeveloping the waterfront park and collecting user fees;
Implementing paid on-street parking;
Formalizing agreements for public access to parking on private lands; and
Developing a Secondary Plan for the entire Crystal Beach Neighbourhood.

The Town needs a clear and contemporary parking strategy to guide future initiatives and support broader Town objectives. The Town started the process of reviewing, understanding and improving parking in Crystal Beach by hiring a consultant team in June 2019. The Crystal Beach Parking Study will develop a plan to ensure an adequate supply of parking is available through the year 2039 (the next 20 years) to accommodate the planned growth.

A public information centre was held on August 28, 2019. Attendees were able to learn more about the existing parking conditions and future parking demand in Crystal Beach. They also were able to provide feedback. If you were unable to attend, you can review the presentation boards.

Update – August 8, 2019

Town staff have scheduled a Public Information Open House for Wednesday, August 28, 2019 at the Crystal Ridge Community Centre from 6-8pm. This is the 2nd Open House for the Crystal Beach Secondary Plan. Staff will have a Conceptual Development Plan on display to illustrate which properties it is considering for Land Use Designation and/or Zoning changes.

Public Information Open House Meeting No.2 - Meeting Notice

The Open House will consist of the first hour for plan review and discussions with Town staff and consultant representatives. After the discussions a presentation outlining the Conceptual Development Plan components and vision.

Identified property owners will be receiving a letter in the mail advising of the Town's interest.

A copy of the Conceptual Development Plan is available as a PDF file for download or online review. Also available is the transcribed Community Focus Group suggestions. The suggestions contributed to the development of the Conceptual Plan.

The Plans are available with the following links:

Staff will receive comments on the Conceptual Development (Land Use) Plan up until Friday, September 13, 2019 via e-mail or written submissions.

The Town also initiated a Parking Study for Crystal Beach. The consultant retained for the study work (Paradigm Transportation Solutions Limited (PTSL) will have representatives at the meeting. They work towards generating some short and long term options/recommendations respecting:

the "Beach Area” parking,
the “Commercial Core Area” parking,
and other areas throughout the balance of the Crystal Beach Neighbourhood.

PTSL will provide contact information on where comments can be made related to their study work. They will also be making an online survey for input available soon. Planning staff will have a link posted here very shortly.

Persons who have provided e-mail contact information will be sent a Notice. The Notice will run in the upcoming August 15, 2019 Fort Erie Post newspaper. The Town will also be advising of the meeting on our social media accounts.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Update – September 4, 2018

Following the August 1, 2018 Public Information Open House, Town staff has received many submissions. Thank you!

Town staff would like to take this opportunity to clear up some misconception and provide some facts about the Secondary Plan. Please read this linked PDF file with a Question / Answer format on some of the common commenting being received.

Staff are in a consultation cycle and will announce any future Public Information Meetings through all the regular channels. If you wish to have notification e-mailed to you, please provide your e-mail address to cmillar@forterie.ca.

Update – August 2, 2018

Thanks for coming to the Open House!

Approximately 70 people were in attendance at Crystal Ridge Community Centre on the evening of August 1, 2018.

Staff had a series of boards on display and gave a presentation to go over the secondary plan process. Thier goals was to open dialogue for the coming months, as we work towards generating some draft materials to return to the public. Staff will meet with stakeholders, partner agencies and other groups in the coming weeks and also meet with the Community Focus Group.

The presentation given can be downloaded using the link below:

August 1, 2018 Crystal Beach Public Information Open House Presentation

A copy of the display board panels as a pdf can also be downloaded using the link below:

August 1, 2018 Crystal Beach Public Information Open House Display Boards

Once again, thank you for attending and look forward to speaking to you all again.

Update – July 19, 2018 - Public Information Open House No.1

The first Public Information Open House has been scheduled for August 1, 2018.

The meeting will be open to the public from 6pm to 8pm with a brief presentation at 7pm.

Public Information Open House

The intent of this meeting is to hear from residents about where they see Crystal Beach in another 25 years. Some topics framed in policy of a secondary plan are:

growth,
intensification,
redevelopment and rejuvenation,
together with conservation,
preservation and protection,
land use being the central focus.

These are the types of questions, along with many others, that Town staff needs to consider in preparing a Secondary Plan:

Where should we grow in this community?
Where should intensification go in Crystal Beach?
What should that intensification look like?
What form of buildings should we consider?
How do we head towards improving on a complete community concept?

Town staff and the Crystal Beach Community Focus Group participated in separate strategic planning sessions. Planning Report No. PDS-45-2018 provides a synthesis of that thought process and has given Town planning staff a direction for exploration with the balance of the community. Planning staff hope to hear from all public, partners and stakeholders on this planning exercise.

NO PROPOSED CHANGES ARE BEING PRESENTED AT THIS TIME. This meeting is about hearing what you would like to see, or have staff consider, before returning to the public with a proposed land use plan.

If you are unable to attend the meeting, please write in with your thoughts and opinions about Crystal Beach's future. Please use the contact information at the bottom of this page. Staff encourage review of Report PDS-45-2018 for context on this planning exercise.

Public Notice

PDS-45-2018

Thank you!

Hope to see you August 1 2018!

Update - July 3, 2018 Report PDS-45-2018 will be available here on July 4, 2018 after noon.

Crystal Beach Secondary Plan Strategic Planning Session Results (PDS-45-2018)

The Report provides a comparative look at two separate Strategic Planning Sessions. One conducted with Senior Town staff and the other with the Council endorsed Community Focus Group. The strategic sessions act as a starting point for this land use exercise.

A Public Information Open House will be conducted in near future (August 1, 2018). Its purpose is to talk with interested persons about the process and the goals the Plan intends to reach through policy and zoning changes currently in place for select areas of the Crystal Beach community.

Update - April 4, 2018

Thank you everyone who submitted their Expression of Interest for volunteering to sit with the Crystal Beach Secondary Plan Community Focus Group. Staff will prepare a report for Council to consider. Staff will select members in effort to select a representative cross section for staff to engage. All those who have submitted their names for consideration will be notified when the report is going before Council.

Update – March 15, 2018

The Southend Secondary Plan now in the final stages of Region of Niagara review and approval. Town staff have received authorization to proceed with the Crystal Beach Secondary Plan. Staff report PDS-14-2018 received Council's authorization at its February 20, 2018 Council-in-Committee meeting. A copy of the report can be downloaded with the link below.

The first step of this land use planning exercise is to establish a Community Focus Group. This group consists of approximately 12 -15 members of the neighbourhood cross section.

A Request or Expressions of Interest (RFEOI) has been issued through the local newspaper and social media. It's seeking interested persons from categories outlined in the RFEOI Notice.

If you would like Council to consider your participation on the Community Focus Group, please submit your Expression of Interest, having regard to the outline provided. Deadline for submissions is March 31, 2018.

There will be several Public Open House Meetings scheduled over the course of the Secondary Plan's development. In addition, community organizations and associations will also have an opportunity to express their views.

Town staff is seeking to have the Community Focus Group structured and established by Council in the near-term.

All notices and key milestone documents will be posted on this webpage throughout the process. Town staff will follow Council's notification policies on notifying the public and property owners of upcoming meetings and details as they become necessary.

Viewing or Downloadable links (PDF):

PDS-14-2018 Authorization to Commence the Crystal Beach Secondary Plan

CFG RFEOI Request for Expressions of Interest – Crystal Beach Secondary Plan Community Focus Group

Some Planning Background

Back in 2005, the Town completed a “Neighbourhood Plan” that served as a guide, but did not form part of the Town's Official Plan. The Secondary Plan process will result in an Official Plan Amendment (OPA) prepared for Council consideration. As part of the Official Plan, the Secondary Plan land use designations and related policies are strengthened. The Town will also be reviewing and recommending changes to Comprehensive Zoning By-law 129-90. Staff will implement any resulting changes of the Secondary Plan outcome.

There has been many changes to the municipal planning landscape. The Province and the Region of Niagara had considerable influence over the direction community growth. Provincial Plans such as Places to Grow – Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe (2017), have cascading impact on regional and local policy. Any resulting Secondary Plan will need to conform to the legislation and policy regime of the upper tier governments on land use. Town Planning staff will keep these parameters in mind as we work towards a successful Secondary Plan.

2005 Neighbourhood Plan

We welcome your comments and suggestions at any time during this process.

Contact:

Phone: (905) 871-1600 ext.