County Council Highlights for Oct. 1, 2025

Warden Highlights Roundabout Opening, Award-Winning Official Plan

Warden Hilda MacDonald highlighted in her opening remarks at Wednesday’s Council meeting the opening of a double-lane roundabout earlier in the day at the intersection of County Road 42 and County Road 19 straddling the communities of Lakeshore and Tecumseh.

“This double-lane roundabout, of course, is the second one the County has opened in less than a year. The other one, located just two kilometres to the west, at the intersection of County Road 42 and County Road 43, won the Good Roads’ 2024 Municipal Concrete Award,” said MacDonald. “Both roundabouts are part of a $100 million, multi-year, multi-phase project to enhance the corridor so that we can accommodate the construction of more homes and maximize the economic potential of historic growth.”

MacDonald also praised Manager of Planning Services Rebecca Belanger and her team on the County’s Official Plan recently winning Project of the Year from the Ontario Professional Planners Institute.

“What an honour for the County of Essex,” said MacDonald. “Well done and well deserved."

The Warden also praised community groups like the Art Society of Kingsville for signing up for AED and CPR training sessions organized by Essex-Windsor EMS.

“Our Paramedics are on a mission to expand the usage and awareness of lifesaving automated external defibrillators in our region,” said MacDonald. “If you want to sign up for training or learn more about our AED program, visit countyofessex.ca/AED.”

Non-Fire Mutual Aid Asset Inventory Initiative Update

CAO Sandra Zwiers provided Council with an update on the creation of a shared asset inventory among the County and local municipalities for non-fire related mutual aid.

An inventory of non-fire related municipal assets that could be shared in “the event of an emergency or operational hardship” has been compiled and includes snowplows, generators, woodchippers, trailers, loaders and light towers.

“The inventory is not intended to be a rigid contractual commitment but rather a resource tool, identifying assets that may be made available by participating municipalities when needed,” said a report to Council. “Participating municipalities are not obligated to provide resources and will continue to make decisions based on capacity and operational priorities. If resources are shared during an emergency, cost-sharing or reimbursement can be addressed between the requesting and responding parties at that time.”

Council Receives Transportation Master Plan Update

Further public consultations on updates to the County’s Transportation Master Plan are on tap for November with the final report scheduled to come before Council in February of 2026, Council was told Wednesday as it approved an additional $10,000 in funding for the project.

“The TMP update is necessary due to the significant growth in population, employment, and traffic volumes Essex County has experienced since the 2005 TMP was completed and adopted,” said a report to Council. “Since then, there has been a growing interest in active transportation facilities from residents. The transportation industry has also introduced new best management practices, including a greater focus on active transportation and road safety. The updated plan will consider future changes in residential and commercial development.”

The TMP update has the following objectives:

• Facilitate long term planning and policy framework for transportation infrastructure for the next 30 years;
• Establish a blueprint to develop a future transportation network; 
• Develop a safe, sustainable multi-modal strategy; 
• Recognize unique needs for municipalities and all types of road users; and
• Enhance the County’s connectivity to the internal and external transportation network

The recommended solution outlined in a presentation to Council is a “multi-modal strategy” that “encompasses improvements to road safety, active transportation and transit.”

Council Votes to Fund Transit Feasibility Study and Continue Discussions

Council voted to pull $100,000 from the Rate Stabilization Reserve in the 2026 Budget to begin a Transit Feasibility Study and to continue discussions with the Regional Transit Group. Council voted against pulling $130,000 from reserves to support the operating deficit of the Leamington to Windsor Transit Line.

“Through discussions with the Regional Transit Working Group, it became clear that while there is interest in regional transit, support remains cautious, and the available data is not sufficient to define or sustain a long-term program,” said a report to Council. “The group acknowledged that successful transit initiatives must balance evidence-based planning with the recognition that transit is often provided as a public good rather than a profit-making or even break-even service. While the new County of Essex Official Plan encourages the development of transit, its implementation depends on political will and budget priorities.”

The Transit Working Group, comprised of representatives from each local municipality and the County’s Director of Infrastructure and Planning Services, met in June, July and September of 2025. The group envisioned three possible governance structures for a potential regional transit system. The first structure would see the service managed by the local municipality with funding support from the County and the second would see the County manage and operate a regional system, with funding provided by the general tax levy. The third structure, the “do nothing” model, would involve no involvement from the County of Essex.

Current transit services in Essex County include:

• The Town of Tecumseh continues to invest in local transit routes, new electric buses, and connections to Windsor. 
• The Towns of Amherstburg and LaSalle plan to maintain transit service contracts with Windsor through their annual budget processes. 
• The Town of Essex is progressing with a Rural Transit Feasibility Study. 
• The Municipality of Leamington continues to operate its local “on demand” transit service, and explore options to sustain the Leamington to Windsor (LTW) transit route.

Read the report!

Council Receives Report on Draft Development Charges By-Law

Council voted to receive a report on a draft Development Charges By-Law that would phase-in the charges in increments of 25 per cent over four years, “allowing developers and the community time to adjust while ensuring the County begins to recover costs associated with new growth.”

The By-Law was crafted to reflect Council direction, feedback received at public meetings held in all seven local municipalities and “targeted sessions with community and industry partners, local treasurers, and planners,” said a Council report. Examples of modifications made in response to that feedback include:

• Concerns about affordability are addressed through the inclusion of the Province’s updated affordable and attainable housing exemptions. While the specific application will vary for each local municipality, it remains consistent with local practices. 
• Requests for fairness across sectors are reflected in the inclusion of commercial and industrial development in the DC framework. The charge is not just applied to residential development. 
• The development industry’s preference for a gradual implementation is addressed through a delayed implementation of charges to January 1, 2027 and a subsequent four-year, 25% phased-in approach.
• Council’s concern that residents should not bear the full burden of growth costs is reflected in the emphasis on “growth paying for growth.”

The County launched this development charges initiative in an effort to ensure that growth pays for growth and so that the cost of infrastructure and expanded County services related to growth would be borne by developers and not current residents. Development charges are commonly applied in local municipalities but have never been levied by the County of Essex.

“Implementing Development Charges will provide a dedicated and predictable funding stream for growth-related infrastructure, reducing the reliance on property taxes to fund new capital needs,” said a report to Council. “Without Development Charges, the average household (valued at $350,000) could face an annual property tax increase of approximately $200 to cover growth-related costs.”

Wednesday’s meeting was a statutory one to discuss the draft By-Law. Council will deliberate it at its meeting on Nov. 19. If Council approves it, the effective date of implementing development charges would be delayed to January 1, 2027.

Read the report!

Read more about the County’s Development Charges initiative!

Council Approves Meeting Schedule for 2026

Council voted to approve the meeting schedule for 2026. Read the schedule!