By Mike Renzella
The Haldimand Press
HALDIMAND — Each year, students in Rural Planning and Development Professor Dr. Wayne Caldwell’s ‘Advanced Planning Practice’ course at the University of Guelph collect research proposals from municipalities throughout Ontario, choosing four proposals to focus on for a semester-long group project.
Haldimand’s proposal, titled “Design Guidelines for Infill Development”, was one of the proposals chosen this term.
We spoke with Dr. Caldwell about his course, and how his students will look at the issue as it relates to Haldimand.
The accredited planning program at U of G is the only one in Ontario solely dedicated to rural and small-town development and planning.
“The best learning possible for students is to get direct experience. It brings out my own experience, having worked with municipalities for 20-25 years. It also gives a sense of wanting to give back as well, both from the point of view of assisting communities, but also helping residents in these communities develop a better appreciation of planning,” said Caldwell.
He said some recent topics addressed by students in his class through the initiative include age-friendly municipal planning, addressing climate change at the municipal level, and downtown revitalization. This is the second project for Haldimand, with the class having previously completed a study on Additional and Alternative Housing Forms for the Prime Agricultural Area last year.
Infill design refers to the process of filling in gaps or empty spaces within existing urban areas, typically with new development or redevelopment, while maintaining aesthetic and functional similarities to the pre-existing homes and structures in the area.
“The whole issue of infill and maintaining small-town character is really important for rural communities. We’re in a situation where we need to intensify in communities. Some people attach a negative connotation to that, I do not,” said Caldwell, citing Elora, Grey County, and Niagara-on-the-Lake as rural areas that have successfully implemented infilling as a way of dealing with growing population density.
“It does represent a change for some communities to think of higher density and what that means in terms of proximity to neighbours and access to service,” said Caldwell. “One of the real advantages, particularly when talking about housing shortages in the province, (is that) one of the most affordable places to build, generally speaking, is where services already exist, whether it’s sidewalks or roads. Intensification will allow more development in a denser format; it is a positive, particularly when it’s done well, which is what we’re trying to help with.”
According to a County release, the topic was chosen for the proposal due to the increased amount of infill development taking place or planned for the county, and the various challenges associated with it.
“Applications for infill development projects regularly generate a substantial amount of public interest, and a recurring theme is the desire for the development to match the character of the existing neighbourhood, specifically the ‘small-town character’. Staff hope to receive a comprehensive set of guidelines based on best practices as well as Haldimand-specific input,” read the release. “This will involve finding out from the public what their idea of small-town character means to them.”
Caldwell said that in addition to reviewing literature and government-supplied guidelines, students would spend time talking to residents of Haldimand, setting up booths in the coming weeks at public arenas and halls, and learning what matters most on a local level. They will present their findings at a Council-in-Committee meeting in April.
Should the guidelines “prove attainable,” according to County staff, they could be considered for implementation as part of “future updates to the County’s Official Plan and/or Zoning Bylaw.”
Caldwell said one of the most potent tools available to his students will be looking at other communities in the area who have faced similar challenges successfully.
“We’ve got 400 municipalities across the province. With all topics, some are leaders and are doing things really well, and when you can learn from other people’s successes, that’s a real positive,” he concluded. “You don’t have to reinvent the wheel to do things well when other people are already doing them.”
