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Official Plan will act as blueprint for the future CYNTHIA GAMBLE Staff Writer Halton Hills finally has a new Official Plan. Well, at least for now. Halton Hills council formally approved the blueprint for future planning of this community at a recent meeting. The new one will replace the outdated 1985 Official Plan, and its primary goal is to retain the small town/rural character with an environment-first planning approach. The foundation of the document is the Community Strategic Plan vision based on extensive public input and includes updated and improved policies on the environment, heritage conservation, housing, commercial, rural area and urban design guidelines. It conforms to the 2005 Provincial Policy Statement, Niagara Escarpment Plan, and the Region's new Official Plan, as well as the initial stage of the Greenbelt Plan. "People don't realize how long it takes to produce an Official Plan like this (five years)," said Wards 3 and 4 Regional Councillor Jane Fogal. "It moves us a long way towards protecting the things that are important to the people of this town and puts us in a much better position to preserve our small town atmosphere." Halton Region must give final confirmation to the new Official Plan, and it must also pass the Ontario Municipal Board appeals process. Already property owners in the Glen Williams area have indicated they will appeal it. Rick and Sally Stull say there are mapping errors that show natural features or woodlots on their property, which they say are not there. The mapping was supplied by the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Town will direct the Stulls' concerns to the Province. See PLANS, pg. 3 Hold that Jaguar The possibility of a Georgetown vs. Christ the King matchup at Ivor Wynne Stadium in Hamilton for Division II Halton high school senior football bragging rights later this month got a little closer to reality on Wednesday as both local teams won their opening-round playoff games. Running back Giovanni Boni (30) broke this Abbey Park tackle attempt and the Jaguars qualified for this Wednesday's semi-finals at St. Thomas Aquinas in Oakville with a 30-10 triumph. Georgetown won by forfeit over Aldershot. For a full story, see page 20. Photo by Eamonn Maher