The Province needs to…

The Province needs to streamline planning documents. The Niagara Escarpment Plan is a plan with policies and development standards. There is no zoning. Development permits need to meet the vision of the Plan. There is no need for both an Official Plan and Zoning By-Law. Both should be combined.

One of the big issues is that the PPS does not provide clear direction on most subjects. How does one protect water quality and quantity. What is a negative impact. Clear direction like Greenbelt Plan and Oakridge Moraine which do not permit development in natural heritage features and areas and require minimum buffers are what is needed. The Province needs to map a Natural Heritage System for the province of no touch areas. By setting minimum standards, it will streamline development significantly.

Natural hazard policies are unclear, development should 'generally' be directed outside of natural hazards. It requires one to read and have extensive knowledge of technical provincial guidelines. The same could be said for on-farm diversified uses and agricultural-related uses. The PPS needs to provide clear direction on where development can and cannot go. The D-Series guidelines are extensive and require a lot of reading. There is so much to know. Perhaps have minimum setbacks in the PPS would avoid the need to incorporate provincial technical direction in Official Plan.

I agree, that the Province needs to provide a template or drastically improve the PPS. The issue is that the PPS is unclear which makes it difficult to write an Official Plan. Maybe do a PPS for different areas of the Province.

Most Official Plans have the categories and mapping talked about, so having standard structure will not improve that much. Having standardized development categories may help. A Commercial Area is needed next to employment. Mixed uses which include residential must not be next to heavy industrial.

The Planning System needs an overhaul and not constant changes. The extent of changes is causing confusion for everyone. Perhaps start fresh, undertake only one comprehensive review and leave planning be for at least 5 years. All these changes have not speed up planning. They are slowing it down, as municipalities are constantly having to update policies and learn new things. Rural areas with only one planner will never be able to keep up. Just as the province said no more changes to a conservation authority permit, the province should not be able to keep changing the rules.

The Oak Ridges Moraine is a better example of a planning document with clear designations and rules. Perhaps follow that.