Roles And Functions
The staff of the Bruce County Planning & Economic Development Department provide professional advice and services in a wide range of areas to the members of the public, local municipal councils and to County Council. We have expertise in the traditional land use planning field, economic development, tourism, resource management and Emergency Response/Civic Addressing.
Land Use Planning:
Land use planning is the traditional function of our Department. In its broadest terms, land use planning deals with the effective management of growth and development in the context of their interrelatedness with social, economic and environmental values. Our staff carry out this function at two levels - the upper tier County level and the local municipal level.
County land use planning responsibilities include:
the administration and application of the policies of the "Bruce County Official Plan";
the processing and assessment of lot creation proposals, both individual lots by consent and larger proposals involving plans of subdivision; and, the processing and assessment of amendments to "Local Official Plans".
As a "upper tier" level of government, County Council has been delegated the responsibility for the approval of lots created by consent, lots created by plans of subdivision, plans of condominiums, and amendments to local official plans.
In the area of local land use planning, the County provides professional planning advice and assistance to local municipalities on local development proposals. The various local development processes our staff are involved with include applications for "Minor Variance", "Zoning By-law Amendment", "Official Plan Amendment", "Consent", "Plans of Subdivision", and "Condominiums".
A growing area of the services provided to local municipalities falls under the heading of "community planning". This function goes beyond the process of development applications and involves assisting with the development of local official plans and zoning by-laws, local economic development initiatives, strategic planning, and special studies in areas such as recreation, waterfront development, and commercial and industrial development.
Economic Development:
Traditionally, the Department's main role in economic development has been to administer grant monies to local groups who actively promote the County's tourism, agriculture and various community assets. In the last few years however, the Department has become much more directly involved in promoting economic development within the County and assisting business and industry to develop an understanding and appreciation of what this area has to offer.
Through partnerships with other organizations such as the Bruce Community Development Corporation, our Department produced the 1995-96 Business Directory, the Bruce County Promotional Profile, and the 1997-98 Business Directory. Our staff also played a major role in the development and content of the Bruce County web site.
In addition to the individual economic development products, our Department developed and maintains an extensive data base of statistical information on the County and its local communities, including data from the 1986, 1991 and 1996 Census. This information is available to local residents, businesses, and organizations.
Tourism:
Through the Office of Tourism and Agriculture, our Department plays a major role in the promotion and development of our agriculture and tourism industries. In addition to developing promotional information on the area's tourism assets, our staff assist and help co-ordinate the efforts of local tourism organizations. On a larger scale, our staff has been very successful in developing partnerships with regional and provincial tourism associations, advancing the promotional activity of this area of the province.
The Office of Tourism and Agriculture was also responsible for first utilizing the Internet as a tool for promoting the area and delivering services. The success of the Bruce County Tourism web site, provided the incentive for the development of the more comprehensive Bruce County web site.
Resource Management:
Under the broad heading of resource management, the Department is involved in three specific areas: County Forests, Tree Cutting By-law, and Waste Management.
The Department is responsible for the administration of approximately 4850 hectares of land under the "Bruce County Forest" program. The Ministry of Natural Resources provides for the management of these forest resources through agreement with the County. These lands are public lands owned by the County and accessible to local residents and visitors alike.
The Department is responsible for administering the By-law which regulates the cutting of trees within the County. Through this program, sound forest management practices are promoted.
In 1995 Bruce County Council adopted a new Waste Management Master Plan for the County. This document set out a strategy for long term management of area wastes, including reduction, reuse and recycling diversion initiatives. This Plan identified local municipalities as being responsible for the operation of landfill site and diversion programs. The County was identified as being responsible for the monitoring of landfill capacity, public reduction, and household hazardous waste. The Department implements an ongoing programme for waste management
Emergency Response:
In 1994, the Department was assigned the 911/Civic Addressing project. This project is one of the most ambitious undertaking ever initiated by the County. With "roll out" planned for May 1998, this project has seen the standardization of the naming and numbering of all road and streets, as well as providing municipal addresses for all 35,000 properties within the County, using the latest in computer technology.
The basic principle of our "Enhanced 911" project is to aid emergency services in getting to a location in the quickest way possible. The unique feature of Enhanced 911 is that the 911 call taker is automatically provided with the name, civic address, municipality, phone number and the correct emergency services dispatchers for the 911 caller. This information will appear electronically to the 911 call taker without the caller having to say anything.
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