To whom it may concern, I am…

To whom it may concern, I am a registered professional land use planner for a rural municipality in southwester ontario. As such, I use the PPS on a daily basis to inform my recommendations to residents, developers, Council and staff.

I would suggest that the Government consider amending their lot creation policies for agricultural lands by allowing the creation of new residential lots on agricultural land for residential infilling.

This was a policy in place until 2005 when the PPS was revised. Residential infilling was subject to specific criteria.

I get a number of inquiries from agricultural land owners for these types of severances because often the infill lot is not workable due to its location between two residential lot or is too wet. However, land owners are denied an application because the current policies do not allow for residential lot creation in agricultural areas.

In a time with volatile climate and crop prices, farmers need to be able to support their operations. If the Government is committed to strengthening the rural economy as well as increasing housing supply, reintroducing residential infill policies for agricultural land is a good step forward.

Please keep in mind that not all farmers, especially young farmers, are eligible for surplus dwellings because of the farm consolidation clause. working with the current policy, you can also strengthen your surplus dwelling policies by not requiring farm land consolidation. This will allow farmers who are just entering the profession and only won one farm, create capital for their operation and liberate more homes for the market.

Thank you for your consideration.