Greenfield attraction - slow to intensify

NRU
April 19, 2017
By Andrew Cohrs

low to intensify, the story behind Brampton’s infill numbers tells of surplus greenfield land that is being built out before downtown development accelerates. In 2016, only 12.7 per cent of the city’s residential development occurred inside the built-up area, up from 9.1 per cent in 2015.

Brampton interim policy planning director David Waters told NRU that unlike Mississauga, where the majority of Peel Region’s intensification has occurred, Brampton still has significant greenfield land available for building new communities with ground-related housing.

“There are still greenfield opportunities that are available in both the east and west parts of the city and that’s where the demand is. ... We have opportunities within our central area for intensification–
we have lots–but the market does not seem to be responding to that at this point in time.” Ward 2 and 6 councillor Michael Palleschi agrees, telling NRU that there is plenty of serviced land ready for greenfield development in Brampton. And it is that greenfield development, with its ground-related housing, that has attracted developers to Brampton.

Waters says that people are moving to Brampton to live in new communities, not in downtown.

“Brampton is seen as a community where you buy ground-floor type housing and it’s not looked upon as where you may want to live in a highrise.”

Peel Region research and analysis manager Mark Head told NRU in an email that analysis indicates that across the region, the rate of intensification rose from 28.7 per cent in 2015 to 45.6 per cent in 2016. Mississauga is responsible for the majority of that intensification, reporting that in 2015, 99 per cent, and in 2016, 100 per cent of residential growth occurred within the built boundary.

Brampton is expected to contribute at least 26,500 residential units within its built-up area by 2031.
Although only 9,541 residential units were built between 2006 and 2016, Waters says the city is in good shape to meet its Growth Plan targets.

“I think we are going to see an upward trend towards intensification as the greenfield supply starts to dwindle [but] that’s not going to happen for some time. ... As the greenfield area develops and the units
are taken up, there will be less opportunity available in the greenfield areas, which means housing demand will be satisfied within the built boundary through intensification. So even though those [intensification] numbers are not being met today, they are still going to be required in the long term to get us to our 890,000 population for 2031.”

Waters points to ongoing policy and infrastructure work the city is undertaking to make downtown living
more enticing. He notes the Hurontario LRT project extending from Port Credit to Steeles Avenue, a transit study on Queen Street and all-day GO service. As these initiatives proceed they will start to change attitudes towards living in downtown Brampton. Similarly, policies that encourage intensification
seek to make infill development more financially feasible, such as the city’s central area community improvement plan, which offers development charge reductions.

However, should new Growth Plan amendments increase intensification requirements and apply them at the local municipal level, rather than the current regional target, meeting those goals will be much more difficult. If that happened, Waters says the city would have to introduce phasing measure to restrict greenfield development in order to focus development within the built-up area.

Regardless of potential changes to the Growth Plan, Waters says that the reality for Brampton is that it will have to reach its intensification targets if it is to accommodate the projected population by 2031.It is just a matter of when.