Conversations with residents, local businesses, and members of the development industry community highlighted the need to develop a consistent communication strategy to ensure that members of the public understand current and anticipated growth-related challenges. Effective communication will support understanding of the challenges, solutions, and the benefits of well-managed growth. This will also guide future engagement needed as elements of the growth plan are implemented.

Utilizing surplus land can be a helpful tool to increase the supply of housing in MOC. Individual surplus lands, when governed by an overall strategy, can be together considered to be part of a “Land Bank”. Municipalities can use a land banking framework to move forward community goals, like increasing affordable housing access and supporting the development of community facilities, by being strategic in how they acquire, improve, and dispose of surplus lands.

To ensure consistency in planning regulations and land use policies, the boundaries of Hamlet Designations could be adjusted to align with properties included in expanded sewer service areas. This alignment is foundational for all recommendations that target the Hamlet Designations would be applied, such as the siting of public facilities, investment of pedestrian infrastructure, and design guidelines. This is based on the principle that MOC should apply a coherent regulatory framework for areas with sewer service that are within or adjacent to the existing Hamlet Areas. By doing so, MOC can offer a predictable and uniform approach to growth management, avoiding fragmented or inconsistent policy application between serviced and un-serviced properties.

The Growth Plan aims to appropriately balance growth between existing Hamlets and rural areas. This approach focuses growth in Hamlet Areas which each have, or are proposed to have, sewer service system. However future growth areas (including Highway 103 exits) will also be factored into growth share targets. It is recommended that MOC develop specific growth share targets for serviced areas in the Hamlets, Highway 103 Growth Areas, and un-serviced areas in order to better understand the implications of different growth scenarios and to measure housing starts against.

This will include evaluations of the current and proposed capacity of sewer systems and the potential for potable water service to support greater density in serviced areas.

For MOC’s Hamlets to support the recommended incremental housing development and municipal infrastructure investment, sewer service capacity must be available. Without this capacity, a larger share of growth will occur outside of the Hamlets on large unserviced lots. This development pattern is more expensive to serve with municipal infrastructure and services, has negative environmental impacts, and does not support local economic development objectives. Expanding sewer capacity is critical to maintaining the character, livability, and economic vitality of MOC’s communities.

The Municipality of Chester currently lacks municipal water supply systems. It is essential that MOC prioritize matching sewer service with municipal water supply in order to support the development of missing middle housing. The development of water supply systems will support the development of housing in areas best suited to accommodate growth, including the Hamlets and Highway 103 exits.