Proposed Municipal Boundary Adjustment

The Councils of the City of Stratford (“City”), Township of Perth South (“Township”), and the County of Perth (“County”) are considering proposed adjustments of their municipal boundaries to include within the City of Stratford certain lands located in the Township of Perth South, County of Perth as shown on the attached maps.

The Councils of the City, Township, and County will be holding a joint public meeting as it relates to the proposed boundary adjustment.

The lands subject to the proposed amendment to the municipal boundary adjustments (Property #1 and Property #2) are located along or near Highway 7 and Line 29 (formerly Gibb Road) in Perth South as shown on the attached maps and generally described as follows:

Property 1:

Part of Lot A, Concession 4 in the Gore of the Township of Downie, now in the Township of Perth South, County of Perth being PIN 53272-0109;

Part of Original Road Allowance between Lots A, and Lot 5, Concession 4 in the Gore of the Township of Downie, now in the Township of Perth South, County of Perth being part of PIN 53272-0108;

Part Lot A, Concession 4 in the Gore of the Township of Downie, now in the Township of Perth South, County of Perth being part of PIN 53272-0076;

Part of Lot A, Concession 4 in the Gore of the Township of Downie, now in the Township of Perth South, County of Perth being part of PIN 53272-0158;

Part of the Original Road Allowance between Concession 4 and Concession 5 in the Gore of the Township of Downie, known as Line 29 and lying between Road 119 and 113, now in the Township of Perth South, County of Perth being part of PIN 53272-0002.

Property 2:

Part of Lot 1, Concession 5 in the Geographic Township of Downie, now in the Township of Perth South, County of Perth being all of PIN 53265-0008;

Part of Lots 2, 3, and 4, Concession 5 in the Geographic Township of Downie, now in the Township of Perth South, County of Perth being all of PIN 53265-0007;

Part of the Original Road Allowance between Concession 4 and 5 in the Geographic Township of Downie, known as Gibb Road and Line 29 and lying between Road 119 and Road 122, now in the Township of Perth South, County of Perth being part of PIN 53264-0002.

The purpose of the annexation of Property 1 and Property 2 is to create new industrial lands in the City.  The Councils of the City, Township and County have agreed to consider the proposed adjustment to the municipal boundaries and are seeking public input and comment.  If accepted by the municipalities, the proposal will require the approval of the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.

Assets, Liabilities, Rights and Obligations:

Except as noted below, all assets and liabilities, rights and obligations of the Township will vest with the City as of the date of the annexation. Any real property associated with any roads will also vest with the City. There are no other properties owned by the County or the Township in the annexed areas.

Any litigation that was commenced prior to the effective date of the boundary adjustment will remain the responsibility of the Township and/or County and will not be transferred to the City.

Taxes:

Properties subject to the proposed annexation shall be taxed by the City as of the effective date with the appropriate cost sharing agreements entered into with the Township.

Water, Sewers and Septic Systems:

Owners of any annexed lands will be required to connect to the City’s services (water) when the lands are developed.

Any properties on an existing septic system can continue to use the septic systems for up to a maximum period of 15 years unless they experience operational difficulties or there are significant upgrades to the property, and sanitary sewers are available at which time the properties will be required to connect to the City’s services.

Municipal By-laws:

The following by-laws of the County of Perth and the Township of Perth South shall continue to apply to the annexed lands until amended and/or repealed by the City of Stratford.

·  By-laws passed under the Drainage Act

·  By-laws passed under the Weed Control Act

Compensation to the Township:

Should the annexation be adopted by the City, County and Township, the proposed compensation to the Township for the annexation is subject to a separate agreement between the City and Township. In that agreement, the City and Township have agreed to an appropriate allocation of the taxes to ensure no negative financial impacts associated with the annexation are experienced by the Township. The City will compensate the Township for at least the level of local taxes associated with the annexed lands prior to the boundary adjustment, in addition to a portion of any increases in local taxes.

Should the annexation be supported by all three Councils; the County and the City will agree to share their share of joint costs for Social Services, Emergency Medical Services, the Huron Perth Health Unit and Spruce Lodge on the basis of assessment and in accordance with the existing cost-sharing agreements currently in place between the municipalities.

Disclaimer:

This is a summary of the provisions contained in the proposed agreements between the municipalities only. For the exact wording and provisions, reference should be made to the agreements once adopted by all three parties.

Public Meeting:

A joint public meeting has been scheduled for Thursday, January 16, 2020 at 6:00 p.m., at the Rotary Complex, 353 McCarthy Road West, Stratford, ON N5A 7S7.

Written Submissions Welcome:

Prior to the Joint Public Meeting, written comments and submissions can be forwarded to the following:

City of Stratford:    Joan Thomson, Acting Chief Administrative Officer

1 Wellington Street, P.O. Box 818

Stratford ON  N5A 6W1

Tel: 519-271-0250 ext. 233

Email: jthomson@stratford.ca

Township of

Perth South:  Rebecca Clothier, Administrator/Treasurer/Deputy Clerk

3191 Road 122

St. Pauls, ON N0K 1V0

Tel: 519-271-0619 ext. 227 

Fax: 519-271-0647

Email: rclothier@perthsouth.ca

County of Perth:  Lori Wolfe, Acting Chief Administrative Officer

Perth County Court House

1 Huron Street,

Stratford ON  N5A 5S4

Tel: 519-271-0531 ext 110

Fax:519-271-2723

Email: lwolfe@perthcounty.ca

The Township of Perth South, County of Perth and City of Stratford are proposing a municipal boundary adjustment that would result in lands located in Perth South being annexed into the City of Stratford. The proposed annexation will see approximately 320 acres transferred from Perth South and Perth County to the City of Stratford.

Over the past 20 years Stratford has undertaken a series of annexations in response to the demand for additional lands to meet residential and employment growth pressure as shown on the map below.

Stratford currently has no industrial lands in its inventory and the current proposed annexation will provide much needed land to Stratford and will enable Stratford to accommodate large users and develop an industrial park of 1-3 acre lots that are currently in high demand. The properties subject to the annexation would create additional industrial land supply in the immediate proximity of existing industrial areas and will extend the existing industrial lands area know as Wright Business Park.

The proposed annexation is a partnership between Perth South and Stratford to develop serviced industrial lands for future development. This partnership is a win-win for both municipalities as Stratford requires additional land for industrial development and Perth South has land but does not have the water and waste water services for development. In addition, the economic growth, new employment opportunities and spin-off effects from this development of the annexation lands will benefit the City, Township and County.

Being a mainly rural community Perth South Council and staff take the role of stewards of prime agricultural lands very seriously. As such, when we have to consider annexing our lands to the City of Stratford, we do this with full consideration of the importance of farmland.  We don’t take this decision lightly, we do this with the intention of maintaining as much agricultural lands as possible, while at the same time keeping our Township viable.

Keeping the Township viable has been increasing difficult in recent years. Our biggest challenge is the reduction of Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund (OMPF) grant from the province. This grant funding, which supports all operations of the municipality, was reduced by $2 million in 2012. We are required to reduce expenditures by the $2 million each year, or alternatively, find replacement revenue. An increase in taxes as replacement revenue would be equal to adding $1,252 to every household’s tax bill. Alternatively, we would have to add an additional 1,428 homes to the Township. The latter is not possible as we lack the required water and wastewater services.

Other challenges include farm consolidations which eroded both our tax base and population, little to no growth in any sector due to development challenges, and most recently, the news that our largest employer and tax payer, Maple Leaf Foods, is closing and moving its operations to London.

Perth South has previously partnered with Stratford in a similar partnership for land development with a land annexation and tax revenue sharing agreement. This has partnership has been a significant factor in offsetting OMPF losses. In 2019 the tax revenue sharing agreement provided Perth South with $511,013.51, an amount that represents revenue to offset 25% of our OMPF loss. In addition, these same lands generated $119,142.79 in revenue for the County of Perth. We feel that this proposed partnership through the annexation of lands for industrial development will have the same positive impact. 

Public comments on the proposal are being accepted until 11:59 p.m. on January 31, 2020. Comments can be submitted to Tatiana Dafoe, Acting City Clerk, City of Stratford at tdafoe@stratford.ca. All comments received will be circulated to the three Councils prior to the proposal being considered. The proposal will be considered by the three Councils on the following dates:

  City of Stratford  February 4, 2020 at 7:00 p.m.

  County of Perth  February 6, 2020 at 9:00 a.m.

  Township of Perth South     February 6, 2020 at 7:00 p.m.