First set of indicators released: MEASURING GREENBELT PERFORMANCE
NRU
April 8, 2015
Leah Wong
The province recently released its first set of performance indicators for the Greenbelt Plan, Niagara Escarpment Plan and Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan, which is intended to help measure the effectiveness of the three plans.
The indicators have been released as part of the coordinated review of the three greenbelt plans and the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe (see the April 1 edition of NRU for the Growth Plan indicators).
The performance of the plans will be measured through indicators, which revolve around nine themes: directing urban growth; natural heritage and connectivity; prime agricultural land and fragmentation; water; aggregates; infrastructure; strong rural communities; agricultural economy and tourism and recreation and cultural heritage. However, only indicators for four of the themes have been released to date.
The majority of indicators will be reported at a system-level, looking at information on a broad geographical scale. When possible, performance indicators also show results specific to the three plans.
Prime agricultural land and fragmentation
A major component of the Greenbelt Plan is to support agriculture as the predominant land use and protect against the loss and fragmentation of the agricultural land base. Within the plan specialty crop areas receive the highest level of agricultural protection—with few exceptions, no settlement area expansion or non-agricultural uses are permitted in these areas. Specialty crop areas include the Holland March and the Niagara Peninsula tender fruit and grape area.
Provincial policies prevent the fragmentation of specialty crop areas into smaller parcels of land, as fragmentation may limit long-term agricultural viability. Between 2007 and 2014 only 40 lots smaller than 40 acres were created in specialty crop areas.
Directing urban growth
Most of the released indicators revolve around urban growth measured through lot creation and the location of residential units. Outside of settlement areas lot creation is limited to agricultural, agriculture-related and infrastructure uses. The results show that there has been limited lot creation outside of the settlement areas in the Greenbelt.
Between 2007 and 2014 there were relatively low rates of lot creation in all three plan areas with a 1.3 per cent overall growth rate for the entire Greenbelt. This is in comparison to a 3 per cent rate in non-Greenbelt areas of the Greater Golden Horseshoe.
While the annual rate of lot creation has fluctuated across the three planning areas, in the Greenbelt fewer lots have been created outside of settlement areas since 2007. Of the new one-plus acre lots created outside settlement areas in the Greater Golden Horseshoe since 2007, only 17 per cent were in the Greenbelt, compared to 32 per cent prior to 2007.
The majority of new residential dwelling units created since 2006 have occurred within settlement areas. In the protected countryside of the Greenbelt Plan and the Oak Ridges Moraine a higher percentage of units were created in settlement areas after 2006 than before. In the Niagara Escarpment a lower percentage of lots were created in settlement areas than was previously the case. Between 2006 and 2011 within the Niagara Escarpment 83 per cent of new dwelling units were created inside settlement areas, compared to 95 per cent between 2001 and 2006.
Since the plans were introduced there has also been proportionally fewer dwelling units created outside settlement areas in the Greenbelt compared to the non-Greenbelt areas of the Greater Golden Horseshoe. Between 2006 and 2011 23 per cent of all units were created outside settlement areas in comparison to 28 per cent between 2001 and 2006.
Natural heritage and connectivity
Under the three plans municipalities are required to protect natural heritage systems—the areas with the highest concentrations of the most sensitive and/or significant natural features and functions. The province has set two baseline indicators to compare woodland cover and mapped wetland cover from 2000-2002 with future data to better assess the success of the plans in protecting these features.
The percentage of woodland cover was 28 per cent in the protected countryside, 38 per cent in the Oak Ridges Moraine and 49 per cent in the Niagara Escarpment in 2000-2002. The percentage of mapped wetland cover was 17 per cent in the protected countryside, 7 per cent in the Oak Ridges Moraine and 9 per cent in the Niagara Escarpment. Future reports will detail whether and how much these percentages have changed relative to plan policies.
Water
Within the three plans’ protected areas there are a number of areas that have hydrological significance. The Greenbelt Plan, for example, identifies a water resource system made up of ground and surface water. Within the Oak Ridges Moraine and Niagara Escarpment there are elements fundamental to the water resource system such as major drinking water aquifers, headwater and discharge areas.
Provincial staff has created a baseline indicator to measure the watershed plan coverage in the Greenbelt. The indicator compares the percentage of the Greenbelt that is covered by completed watershed plans with areas outside the Greenbelt that are within the jurisdiction of the 14 conservation authorities. It found that 70 per cent of the Greenbelt is covered by completed watershed plans, compared to 35 per cent of land outside the Greenbelt. Protected countryside has 80 per cent coverage, the Oak Ridges Moraine has 80 per cent and the Niagara Escarpment has 35 per cent.
Greenbelt Plan performance indicators
Directing urban growth
1. Lot creation outside settlement areas
2. Annual rate of lot creation outside settlement areas
3. Distribution of lot creation outside settlement areas
4. Dwelling unit growth outside settlement areas
5. Percentage of new dwelling units created in settlement areas
6. Distribution of dwelling unit growth outside settlement areas
Prime agricultural land and fragmentation
7. Lot creation in Greenbelt specialty crop areas Natural heritage and connectivity
8. Percentage of woodland cover (2000-2002)
9. Percentage of mapped wetland cover (2000-2002)
Water
10. Percentage of watershed plan coverage in the Greenbelt
Source: Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing
