Residents of Norfolk County can rest assured that there are no plans to change any boundaries after the owners of a mall near Tillsonburg requested its inclusion within the town.
A letter from E& E Mc Laughlin Ltd. was presented to the Tillsonburg council during a meeting held last month, asking for the Norfolk Mall, situated at 400 Simcoe St., to be incorporated into Tillsonburg through a boundary adjustment.
The mall sits in Norfolk close to the Oxford County line, with Oxford providing water and sewer services to the property.
Kassandra Way, chief operating officer of E& E Mc Laughlin, noted in her letter that ongoing issues with loitering in the mall’s parking lot have led to noise and litter complaints from neighbors. She added that “police response times from Simcoe have proven ineffective, as the individuals in question often leave before officers arrive.”
Due to these concerns and because water and sanitary sewer services aren’t available in Norfolk, Way requested that the property be included as part of Tillsonburg.
The request also mentioned that a Winner’s store is expected to open at this location next year, taking over 22,500 square feet previously occupied by Walmart. Additionally, a new standalone building of 40,000 square feet will be built on-site for two or three more businesses.
A news release from Norfolk County indicated that there have been no discussions regarding municipal boundary changes between Norfolk and any neighboring municipalities. It emphasized that any talk about boundary changes happens only between willing parties and requires mutual agreement.
“Often, considerable financial compensation is considered for the municipality giving up land,” stated the release.
Norfolk Mayor Amy Martin remarked that media reports and social media conversations about Tillsonburg highlight how important it is to protect commercial/employment assessments within Norfolk County.
“I want to assure the residents of Norfolk County that I would fiercely defend the retention of employment land to our provincial partners. Norfolk County takes pride in governing based on facts – not rumours – and is committed to ensuring residents have accurate information before drawing conclusions.”
Katherine Mc Curdy, director of communications for Norfolk County, mentioned that E& E’s property within the mall incurs an annual property tax bill of about $114,000.
Tillsonburg Mayor Deb Gilvesy also released a statement addressing “some misconceptions” surrounding the mall property.
Gilvesy pointed out that a delegation commissioned by Oxford County presented council with a report including a land needs analysis which concluded that Tillsonburg will need additional commercial lands within its borders for future growth.
The letter from mall owners was brought up during this same meeting attended by councillors.
Gilvesy emphasized that “any significant growth or redevelopment on this site is limited unless it falls within (Oxford) County’s jurisdiction.”
“Because the town does not own the water and sewer infrastructure for this property, this matter has been appropriately referred to (Oxford) County for comment and review,” she explained.
Minutes from the meeting show council approved a resolution stating that “the Town of Tillsonburg requests support from the County of Oxford to pursue inclusion of the 400 Simcoe Street property as part of the municipality of Town of Tillsonburg.”
Gilvesy confirmed that no formal application has yet been submitted by mall owners regarding any potential boundary adjustment and clarified there haven’t been discussions between Tillsonburg and Norfolk County.
With files from Jeff Helsdon, a Local Journalism Initiative Reporter based at Woodstock Ingersoll Echo. The initiative is funded by Government of Canada.
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