FORT FRANCES — The Town of Fort Frances has given the final stamp of approval to two documents that will guide it through the next quarter-century or beyond.
At last Monday’s meeting of Town Council, approval was given to the final draft of the Town of Fort Frances Official Plan and Zoning By-law documents, which will be officially adopted once the appropriate by-laws are written up for their next meeting on Monday, January 27, 2025.
The town had been working on creating a new Official Plan and Zoning By-law in 2023 and 2024, updating two key pieces of municipal policy that ensures it can work towards specific goals for both the town and residents.
The scope for an Official Plan and Zoning By-law are meant to accommodate the town’s growth for a period of up to 25 years, as per the Provincial Policy Statement, 2020, under the Ontario Planning Act.
The current Official Plan was approved by council in 2012, with the current Zoning By-law getting approval in 2014.
As each document is approaching, or more than, a decade old, and considering much has changed both in Fort Frances and the wider world, council has chosen to update the plans well ahead of the 25-year period.
The new documents are intended to be easier to read and be understood by those who need to refer to them for myriad purposes, from setting the strategic vision for the town in the decades to come, updating sections to include natural heritage and Indigenous engagement policies, updating older terms and references and adding in new functions that will make planning and development more streamlined for the future.
The new Zoning By-law, for example, has been significantly updated to address additional residential units within town limits. The new document will allow for additional residential units in all zones where single, detached, semi-detached and townhouse dwellings are permitted for a maximum of three dwelling units on a lot.
The additional residential unit could take up a basement or attic/loft space in a home or even in a detached structure like an upper level of a garage.
In order to realize the additional units, each additional residential unit must have one parking space available, thus limiting the total number of properties in town that may be able to add such units.
The Official Plan and Zoning By-law documents will be available to view on the town’s website.
Also, on last Monday night’s agenda, council set the total amount of funding that will be available for community groups who intend to apply to the Moffat Family Fund grant in 2025.
Council was presented a report detailing that a grand total of $102,500 will be made available to them by the Winnipeg-based fund for this year, a decision needed to be made on how much would be held back to cover part, or all, of associated administrative costs.
Options presented to council were to (a) approve the use of up to three percent of the total amount for grantmaking administration, which would reduce the total allocation to applicants to $99,425, (b) council cover the remaining administration costs and provide the total allocation of $102,500, or (c) council approve the use of $2,500 for grant-making administration, leaving $100,000 for allocation.
When asked by councillor Mike Behan what the total administrative cost would be, town clerk Chelsea Grieg noted that the town has not yet calculated what that total would be, only that there is “a lot” of administration time that goes into preparing the grants for submission, as well subsequent reports.
Council agreed that while making the money available to the community organizations who apply for it each year was the goal, the town’s financial situation also required some consideration.
To that end, councillors ultimately went with the third option given to them, making $100,000 available for organizations that apply to the Moffat Family Fund in 2025. Councillors Steve Maki and John McTaggart were also reappointed to the Moffat Family Fund ad-hoc committee.
The application period for local organizations to apply to the Moffat Family Fund for 2025 is open now and will close on Friday, February 28, 2025. For more information or to obtain an application package, visit the Town of Fort Frances website.
The town’s newest councillor, Bill Morrison Jr., who was sworn in following a special meeting of council in mid-December 2025, was also officially appointed to the boards and committees that he will be sitting on for the remainder of council’s terms.
Morrison was appointed to sit on the town’s Indigenous Relations Advisory Committee, the Fort Frances Public Library Board, the Citizen of the Year Committee and the Physician Recruitment and Retention Committee. Mayor Andrew Hallikas was officially appointed to the Fort Frances Homelessness Committee, which he said he had been sitting on since its inception.
The mayor and council also passed several by-laws at last Monday’s meeting, including:
• By-Law 01-25 - Being a By-Law to authorize the Temporary Borrowing for 2025
• By-Law 02-25 - Being a By-Law to provide for an Interim Taxy Levy in the year 2025
• By-Law 03-25 - Being a By-Law to authorize a Letter of Understanding with the Township of Alberton regarding By-Law Enforcement Services
• By-Law 03-14 AG - Being a By-Law to amend Zoning By-Law 03-14, as amended - 1231 King’s Highway
• By-Law 04-25 - Adopt an Official Plan and to Repeal By-Law No. 63-11
Fort Frances Times / Local Journalism Initiative
