Wellesley will once again be opening membership on its committee of adjustment to the public, township council decided this week.
Acting on a proposal from Coun. Shelly Wagner, councillors meeting Tuesday night voted 3-1 to reverse, at least somewhat, its stance on the committee. In March 2017, council dissolved the citizen-staffed committee of adjustment, taking on the duties itself. The latest move would see councillors and members of the public on the body.
The 2017 divorce was at times bitter, leaving councillors a bit hesitant to revert to including citizens, however.
Per Wagner’s suggestion, the new committee will feature a mix of two councillors and three members of the public.
“I believe in the past with the committee of adjustment, it was the taxpayers that sat on the committee to keep council at a little bit more of an arm’s length,” she said. “So that there was no perception of the decisions being made being biased, or more in favour of the township than in favour of the citizens or taxpayers.
“I believe that’s why we went with a committee before that was just taxpayers and we went like that for years without any issues until more recently.”
Municipal committees of adjustment are authorized under provincial Planning Act, constituted as a governing body composed of five members that has the power to review and grant “minor variances” of the township’s zoning bylaws.
Minor variances are changes deemed small enough to avoid a full-blown zone-change application. An example might involve a resident of the township interested in building a shed that is closer to the property line than the bylaw allows. Another applicant may wish to extend their fencing past the permitted limits, or build a non-regulation addition to their business.
The function is typical of most municipalities, where citizens are appointed by council to form a committee of adjustment, usually with planning staff support but no council representation. In Wellesley’s case, controversies arose in the past over decisions made by the committee, as housing developers have used minor variances to build homes that are smaller and more compact than the minimum size permitted by the township’s planning guidelines, for instance. Other requests such as homes that are taller than the maximum permitted heights or a decrease in the lot size of new housing developments have similarly earned criticism.
Under the law, all requests for minor variances require a public meeting be held for residents to voice their concerns. Given that, the township notes that those interested in joining the committee of adjustment must be prepared for public scrutiny as they weigh the needs of the applicant against those of the community. Central to the decision-making process that committee members will have to follow is whether the request for a minor variance falls within reasonable limits.
A conflict between council and its former committee led to the split last year.
“We have had the public sit as the committee of adjustment in the recent past. This council took over the committee of adjustment about a year and a half ago,” explained Wagner outside the meeting. “I suggested the combination of public and council because I feel that a council member will have some additional knowledge to offer on some situations where a person from the public would not necessarily have that. I think having two council and three public representatives is a good combination of representation.”
Coun. Peter van der Maas and Mayor Joe Nowak voted in favour of Wagner’s proposal, though Nowak agreed with some reservations.
“I think things have been going quite well as far as the committee of adjustment is concerned. I don’t think it has been that onerous on us to keep it, and I’m not sure this going to be a step backwards,” said Nowak.
With councilors’ approval, township staff will begin seeking out interested applicants for the job. Details on the application process, as well as compensation and working hours, will be forthcoming, with information being posted on the township’s website (www.wellesley.ca)
Any adult resident may apply.
Under the Planning Act, municipal councillors have the authority to appoint members of the public to the committee, meaning Wellesley’s elected officials will have the final say on who’ll be selected.
