Notice of a Complete Application and Public Meeting Concerning a Proposed Amendment to Comprehensive Zoning By-law 5000

Take notice the Council of The Corporation of the Township of Springwater will hold a hybrid public meeting (in person at the Township Administration Centre and virtually via Zoom) on September 2, 2026 at 6:30 p.m. to consider a proposed Housekeeping Zoning By-law Amendment under Sections 34 of the Planning Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P 13 as amended.

Subject Lands

Entire geographic area of the Township of Springwater. No key map has been included in this notice as the proposed amendment applies to the entire municipality.

Purpose and Effect

The purpose and effect of the proposed Housekeeping Zoning By-law Amendment is to clarify, correct and/or make change to various provisions and schedules of the Township’s Zoning By-law 5000, as amended and summarized herein:

1. Technical/Grammatical Housekeeping Corrections text and schedules, including: 

• Spelling and punctuation error corrections;
• Conversion error corrections;
• Mapping error corrections in accordance with previous approvals;
• Section reference error corrections;
• Removing any duplicate provisions;
• Updating reference to any applicable legislation/by-laws; and,
• Numbering or formatting error corrections.

2. Housekeeping Amendments, to create efficiencies in the Zoning provisions, clarify requirements, improvement implementation and address Provincial planning policy changes, on a limited scale. Housekeeping updates proposed are summarized herein: 

• Clarify provisions for Accessory Buildings;
• Remove height provisions for attached Accessory Buildings to a residential use (attached garage);
• Clarify that Hot Tubs are subject to the same provisions as Swimming Pools;
• Remove reference to the area of a Porch within the encroachment provisions;
• Add provisions related to the location of mechanical equipment (such as pool pumps, air conditioning units, generators, and private ground mounted solar).
• Clarify and add provisions for Sight Triangles;
• Add ornamental roof structure and stairwell to height exceptions;
• Public use section to be amended to remove yard requirements;
• Clarification on maximum size for Home Occupation/Home Industry;
• Location provision to be added for Off Street Parking in the Institutional (I) Zone;
• Amend/clarify the housing/storage of a Commercial Motor Vehicle in the Agricultural (A) Zone; 
• Amend/clarify the Additional Residential Unit provisions to provide more detail on the permitted size, location, permit home occupations and ensure conformity with Provincial legislation;
• Clarify that multiple Refreshment Vehicles may be permitted on the same site;
• Remove uncovered, unenclosed Decks from contributing to lot coverage;
• Remove minimum dwelling unit area requirements from all zones, with the exception of the Residential Estate (RE) Zone;
• Clarify applicable provisions for the Residential Conversion (RC) Zone;
• Clarify permitted uses on lots used or intended to be used for a residential purpose within the Agricultural (A) Zone;
• Review and amend the provisions for storage/parking of special vehicles;
• Amend/clarify/add the following definitions: Aisle or Drive Aisle; Attached; Animal Daycare Centre; Bed and Breakfast; Building Height; Cellar; Community Garden; Crawl Space; Garage, Attached; Hobby Kennel; Home Occupation; Lot Line, Rear; Main Wall, Front; Model Home; Swimming Pool/Hot Tub; Townhouse Back-to-Back/Stacked; Trailer, Automotive; Trailer, Commercial; and Total Area of Detached Accessory Building/Structures.

The amendment also proposes to correct mapping for:

• A portion of 30 Spence Avenue in accordance with the completed land sale of the Township owned parcel; and,
• 3613 Baseline Road in accordance with the Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority (NVCA) wetland review.

A draft By-law text and schedule will be posted on the Township’s website (www.springwater.ca) in advance of the Public Meeting for review. 

Meeting Details

Interested stakeholders/residents can listen to the meeting through Zoom online or by dialling 1-647-558-0588 and inputting the meeting ID: 820 8142 5964 when prompted or attend the meeting in person in Council Chambers at the Township’s Administration Centre located at 2231 Nursery Road, Minesing, ON. The Council meeting will also be live streamed on the Township’s YouTube channel at: https://www.springwater.ca/live

To Participate and/or Make Comment

Interested stakeholders/residents that would like to comment/participate in the hybrid Council meeting virtually or in person on Zoom will be required to pre-register with the Township prior to Tuesday, September 1, 2026 at 5:30 PM, by emailing publicmeetings@springwater.ca or calling 705-728-4784 x 2019.

Written and oral submissions will form part of the public meeting record, including the name and address of the commenters, as information collected under the Planning Act. The minutes, written submissions and a recording of the meeting will be posted on the Township’s website.

Any person may make a submission in support of, in opposition to, or ask a question regarding the proposed Zoning By-law Amendment. Written submissions are recommended and can be made to the Planning Department by email, regular post or the drop box located at the Administration Building. Please ensure all written submissions include your name, address and the application number.

If a person or public body would otherwise have an ability to appeal the decision of the Council of the Township of Springwater to the Ontario Land Tribunal but the person or public body does not make oral submissions at a public meeting or make written submissions to the Township of Springwater before the by-law is passed, the person or public body is not entitled to appeal the decision.

If a person or public body does not make oral submissions at a public meeting or make written submissions to the Township of Springwater before the by-law is passed, the person or public body may not be added as a party to the hearing of an appeal before the Ontario Land Tribunal unless, in the opinion of the Tribunal, there are reasonable grounds to do so.

If you wish to be notified of the Council’s decision to approve the proposed Zoning By-law Amendment, or of the refusal of a request to amend the Zoning By-law, a written request must be submitted to the Planning Department.

Additional information related to the proposed Zoning By-law Amendment will become available on the Township of Springwater’s website as part of the Agenda & Minutes page, which is posted five days prior to the public meeting date. Any questions regarding the application or requests for additional information can be directed to publicmeetings@springwater.ca or 705-728-4784 ext. 2019.

Planning Department, Township of Springwater
Administration Centre
2231 Nursery Road
Minesing, ON L9X 1A8
(705) 728-4784 x 2019
Fax (705) 728-2759
e-mail:  publicmeetings@springwater.ca