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Increased population density with easy access to transit key to Ontario's Greenbelt expansion plan

Yorkregion.com
May 11, 2016
By Rachael Williams and Lisa Queen

Depending on who you ask, Ontario’s plans to expand the Greenbelt and manage growth will either result in unwieldy intensification or protect the environment.

“The push is for intensification. At the end of the day, what we’re looking at is more condos and more townhouses. What the growth plan really does is restrict housing choice,” Joe Vaccaro, executive director of the Ontario Home Builders’ Association said. “Everyone is going to have to build up. What does building up mean in places like Markham, where they have unbelievable condo growth? What does it look like?”

But Newmarket-Aurora MPP Chris Ballard says the province is taking steps to protect the environment.

“We’re growing the Greenbelt. I think it’s really exciting because the Oak Ridges Moraine ... was one of the top five things I heard at the door when I was knocking. People are very concerned about protecting the environment, protecting the Oak Ridges Moraine and growing the Greenbelt.”

Ballard says intensification is needed to support public transit infrastructure, but the province still wants to protect our sense of communities.

“I think the way the world is going is higher densities. But I understand in the GTHA there is enough residential land identified to allow us to build for the next 20 years without urban sprawl. We have to make sure it’s sustainable growth. That means making sure people can walk to a transit line or a GO station line or they are within an easy commute of transit. That’s what people tell us they want,” he said.

“We have to have balanced communities. We can’t have people living cheek by jowl if we don’t have adequate greenspace, if we don’t have parks, if we don’t have trails where they can walk from their house to school or to work. We have to plan for all those sorts of things. We can’t just shoehorn people in without all the amenities that make it a complete community.”

Hinged on recommendations from a land use planning review advisory panel, chaired by former Toronto mayor David Crombie, the province has proposed a number of plans to mitigate urban sprawl and support the protection of natural heritage.

Tim Gray, executive director of environment defence, applauded the announcement.

“(It) is great news for Ontarians who care about local farms, forests and sustainable communities,” he said. “We’re pleased that the province is showing leadership with new protections for the Greenbelt, including sensitive water supplies and natural heritage systems, while supporting the agricultural sector and protecting farmland.

“More Ontarians want to live in mixed-use walkable neighbourhoods that are close to amenities like public transit. The stronger intensification targets in the Growth Plan should help slow unnecessary low-density sprawl that is bad for the environment, expensive to provide services to and diminishes quality of life in the Greater Golden Horseshoe,” Gray added. “However, the province must ensure these targets are mandatory. Only then will the Growth Plan create complete communities across the region that are affordable and sustainable.”

The move is receiving initial support from the opposition.

“It is a very important step that has been undertaken here,” York-Simcoe MPP Julia Munro said.
“I do applaud the initiative. I think that it’s important to make some decisions and have studies to support what you go ahead with and that appears to me to be what they have done.”

But, she did voice concerns, as well.

“If they don’t get it right, they’re using up class one farmland that is a non-renewable resource. They also run the risk of looking at subdivision planning and that sort of thing without the balancing infrastructure and the cost of that infrastructure. There’s nothing in here about how it’s going to be funded or how long it will take.”

Wayne Emmerson, York Region chair, said the region looks forward to reviewing the announcement.

“Our Official Plan and support for urban city building along our key centres and corridors position the region well to respond to the direction of the amendments. Our long-range planning aims to help build complete communities around our growing population. York Region is supporting livable communities while managing growth and slowing outward growth in the region.”

Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Ted McMeekin said the plan is a bold step forward for the environment and managing growth in communities.

“The changes we are proposing would promote compact, vibrant communities that would support jobs and public transit, and reward us with an expanded Greenbelt,” he said.

Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry Bill Mauro, Minister of Transportation Steven Del Duca and Minister of Finance and MPP for Mississauga South Charles Sousa joined McMeekin to announce the proposed changes today at the Port Credit Memorial Arena in Mississauga.

Amendments include strengthening protections for employment lands and transit corridors; requiring zoning along transit corridors to provide adequate density; requiring at least 60 per cent of annual new residential development to be within the existing built-up area of a city; and increasing density targets for greenfield areas.

These land use plans go hand-in-hand with $31.5 billion in transit investments from the province, said Del Duca.

And, with the population of the Greater Golden Horseshoe forecasted to grow by around four million over the next 25 years, the time to co-ordinate transit planning, land use and infrastructure investments is now, according to Crombie.

McMeekin told the audience these land use plans coincide with the province’s recent announcement to allow cities to mandate builders to include affordable housing units in new builds, to create more complete, inclusive communities.

“If we can build communities that are transit sensitive, get people around, make sure there’s a balance of employment and educational opportunities ... that’s the kind of planning we want to do,” said McMeekin.

The province plans to unveil a long-term affordable housing strategy ”in a few weeks,” he said.

Proposed recommendations for expanding the Greenbelt include adding lands in 21 major urban river valleys and seven associated coastal wetlands.

Open houses will be held in May and June to allow the public to provide input on the proposed amendments.

A list of confirmed open houses and a guide to the proposed changes can be found online at ontario.ca/landuseplanningreview.

Under the proposed changes introduced by the province, municipalities are to: