Studies

Cannabis Legislation and Policy Study

The Cannabis Act came into effect in October 2018, legalizing the production, sale and use of cannabis for recreational purposes in Canada. While the Town's Official Plan and Zoning By-law regulate the production of cannabis, these permissions are only in the context of marihuana for medical purposes permitted under the earlier Marihuana for Medicinal Purposes Regulations that were introduced in 2014. With the new legislation in effect, cannabis production is now permitted for commercial growth for both medicinal and recreational purposes and the Town's current policies need to be updated to regulate the full range of uses.

The main purpose of this study is to examine the opportunities for the Town to regulate activities permitted under the Cannabis Act, specifically the commercial growing and production of cannabis. The purpose is also to assess and recommend changes to the Official Plan and/or Zoning By-law and other Town documents, as required, to regulate cannabis as a land use in the Town.

PUBLIC OPEN HOUSE

Date: March 4, 2021

Time: 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Place: This will be a virtual meeting

We would like to hear from you: We invite you to attend an evening Public Open House meeting to learn more about this Study. We welcome you to attend and take advantage of the opportunity to review the Study and provide feedback. Residents can participate in a Zoom Public Open House meeting two different ways:

1. Send your comments via e-mail to Lindsay Richardson, Senior Community Planner (lrichardson@forterie.ca) who will provide them to Council.

2. Participate in the Zoom meeting (audio/video via web or by telephone) by sending an email to Lindsay Richardson, Senior Community Planner (lrichardson@forterie.ca) to receive information on joining the Zoom meeting.

To those who register in advance, further information will be the process for joining and participating in the Zoom Public Open House. Registered participants will be queued in a virtual waiting room, and brought into the meeting one at a time

For additional information, please contact:

Chris Millar, Senior Community Planner
905-871-1600 ext. 2504 or cmillar@forterie.ca

Urban Area Boundary Expansion Study

The Town of Fort Erie is currently examining its existing Urban Area Boundary (UAB) and looking for areas to expand in order to accommodate future growth in the Town. 

3 areas have been identified for potential expansion to accommodate future employment/industrial growth:

 

                          

 

3 areas have been identified for potential expansion to accommodate future residential and commercial growth:

 

                            

 

What is an Urban Area Boundary?

An Urban Area Boundary (UAB) is a designated area within the municipality where development is concentrated and contains a planned mix of land uses. UABs are designated in a municipality’s Official Plan and contain municipally provided services, including water and sewage. UABs will be the focus of the Town’s long term growth and development.

 

So Why Expand the Urban Area?

The Town is running out of serviced land, on which to grow. The purpose of this study is to identify where to expand the UAB so that the Town has enough land to meet residential, economic, employment and public land needs for the next thirty years. 

 

How Could an Expansion Impact Me?

In the short term – it will not! The Official Plan Designation and Zoning on your property will remain the same and existing uses and expansions to those uses are grandfathered in. This means that if you want to make changes to your property or expand the existing use, you are able provided the changes and/or expansion in use are in keeping with prior land use permissions. If the expansion is approved, re-designation and rezoning will occur in the future, and will be initiated by the Town through a public and transparent process.

 

Next Steps

Results of this study will be used to prioritize the ideal site(s) for Council consideration and to guide additional study work which may result.  The Town will forward these sites to the Region of Niagara for their review and potential inclusion. 

 

Approval Authority

The Region of Niagara is the sole approval authority for UAB expansion requests and the Town’s study work is being done in consideration of the Region’s ongoing Official Plan review and update.

 

For additional information, please contact:

Chris Millar, Senior Neighbourhood Planner/ Urban Designer
905-871-1600 ext. 2504 or cmillar@forterie.ca