BY NANCY KELLY
Kings County Advertiser/Register
Kingston-area commissioners and residents will have more input into local planning issues following Kings County Council’s approval of an area advisory committee (AAC) for the Kingston growth centre.
The village commission applied to the county to establish the committee earlier this year in reaction to Thomas Brown’s application to rezone a parcel of land off Maple Avenue. After failing to attend public meetings about the application hosted by the county, some commissioners felt the time had come for the village government to have bigger say.
Kingston clerk-treasurer Greg Towne says the experience pointed out to the commission it needed a more formal mechanism to review planning initiatives.
“The process in place didn’t allow for sufficient communication between developers, council and the village,” says Towne.
Kingston’s new AAC will prepare planning recommendations for municipal council with respect to all rezoning and development agreement applications affecting the growth centre of Kingston, the boundaries of which match the village’s boundary. When specifically requested to do so, the committee will also have the authority to seek opinions and input from Kingston residents regarding planning issues and policies. New Minas and Port Williams villages have committees dedicated to planning issues.
Kingston’s AAC will consist of a maximum of eight members: three village commission members, to include the chair, and three area residents, appointed by the commission. County councillors Wayne Atwater and Diana Brothers, representing Districts 5 and 6, will round out the membership.
Brothers, who chairs Kings County’s Planning Advisory Committee (PAC) says the new committee will have an important role to play.
“Now, when a rezoning or development agreement comes before PAC, we will be able to learn firsthand from residents what they think about it. This will help PAC make decisions that affect the area.”
Towne says the village will advertise to fill the three member-at-large positions on the committee, but there is no firm timeline for when the group will start meeting. Volunteer positions on the committee will be filled for two-year terms and officials from the county will provide an orientation.
“It will most likely meet on an ad-hoc basis, when there are issues to discuss,” says Towne.
All meetings of the new committee will be open to the public.
