To: The Ministry of…

To: The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing

Request : Extend the Greenbelt land zoning to apply to the land assembly in Oakville known as The Merton Lands. The Merton Lands are depicted in the map D65549 -Oakville- Deerfield Disposition Lands. Figure 1 (below)

1. The criteria of public ownership of lands to be in the requested Greenbelt expansion is met.

After a long and difficult effort by the citizens of Oakville (2012-2018) the Merton Lands were conveyed to the Town of Oakville by the Province of Ontario to remain in Park Way Belt West zoning as recreational open space (The Deerfield Golf Course) and Conservation Reserve lands for the next 99 years. The Merton lands are currently owned by the Town of Oakville. To add the designation of Greenbelt to the Merton Lands will give assurance that these lands will remain as protected green
Space far into the future.

2. The criteria of Municipal support for the addition to the Greenbelt is met.
On April 12, 2021, the Oakville Municipal Council voted unanimously, in agreement with the request from the public, to expand the Greenbelt jurisdiction over the Merton lands, specifically targeting the Third Line lands adjacent to the l4 Mile Creek and the Deerfield Golf Course. “That the natural area and open space lands in public ownership that are contiguous to the Fourteen Mile Creek Valley lands currently designated Urban River Valley under the Greenbelt Plan be considered for inclusion in the Urban River Valley designation.”

The Fourteen Mile Creek extends through the length of this area. However, currently, the Greenbelt along this urban river valley does not follow through to Third Line although it is adjacent to l4 Mile Creek. The support to expand the Greenbelt over the Merton Lands, already reserved as Conservation Reserve and open space for the next 99 years, is supported by our Municipality. Putting this Conservation Reserve and Open Space land, owned by the Municipality of Oakville into Greenbelt, at their recommendation, is certainly the best way to expand the Greenbelt.
“Recommendation:
That the report titled Provincial Consultation on Growing the Size of the Greenbelt, dated April 6, 2021, be endorsed as the basis for a submission to the province through Environmental Registry Posting #019-3136 by the deadline of April 19, 2021.
That the report titled Provincial Consultation on Growing the Size of the Greenbelt, dated April 6, 2021, be forwarded for information to Halton Region, the City of Burlington, the Town of Halton Hills, the Town of Milton, Credit Valley Conservation, Grand River Conservation Authority and Conservation Halton.”

3. The criteria of connection of The Merton Lands to the existing Greenbelt are very well met.

The location of the Merton land assembly is within a maze of connecting Greenbelt lands. The Merton lands are directly connected to the Greenbelt via the existing Fourteen Mile Creek urban valley Greenbelt which also connects to The Bronte Creek Provincial Park (Greenbelt). The Bronte Creek Provincial Park extends to the Greenbelt area North of the 407. The Natural Heritage System of Oakville connects the Glenorchy Conservation Lands (also Greenbelt) across the West Oakville Natural Heritage System to its connections to the Bronte Creek Greenbelt. The Merton Lands are in the centre of this ecological system and completes the connectivity of the Natural Heritage System to mid Oakville. The Merton land’s South border is the Queen Elizabeth Highway. Putting the entire Merton land assembly into Greenbelt would correct this deficiency of the Greenbelt along the l4 Mile Creek.
Sadly, a large portion of land abutting the open green space of the Merton lands, The Saw Whet Golf Course, once Park Way Belt zoning, was in 2015, lost to the massive development that now extends along the west side of the l4 Mile Creek across to Bronte Road. This development consists of 1180 tightly packed housing units and anticipates 3000 or more people on the 54-hectare site, providing for them, a park of only 5 acres. Just recently, the land assembly on the West Side of Bronte Road, known as the Enns land, adhering to the Bronte Creek Valley was taken out of Park Way Belt West zoning and will be developed. The loss to the eco-system is immense. The ecological plan, devised over the past 20 years, has always been to preserve a contiguous green ecosystem across Oakville from east to west connected through swaths of forest lands, fields and wetlands in the north and mid Oakville, via the Natural Heritage System, Park Way Belt lands and Greenbelt lands. These lands then connect to Lake Ontario in the South through the major river valleys of the Bronte Creek, l4 Mile, l6 Mile and Joshua Creek. The designation of Greenbelt on the Merton lands is a vital piece of retaining a sustainable ecosystem in a very urban environment.
The Merton Lands are situated beside the site of the massive Mid Halton Waste Water Treatment Plant (processing l50 million litres per day of Regional waste) as well as being adjacent to the QEW highway. These green lands serve as a biological filter to the heavy toll of pollution from gases and particulates that emanate from these sources.
Over the past year, throughout the pandemic, the absolute value of the Merton nature lands have become very apparent to Oakville’s residents. The Deerfield Golf Course (open to the public) is more popular than ever. Each day scores of citizens have found their way into the Valley lands, making paths and foot trails along the l4 Mile Creek, within the Merton Lands. Although technically, these lands are not park space, the runners, walkers, families, bicyclers, hikers have gravitated to this beautiful green space along the quite spectacular valley of the l4 Mile Creek and have received mental and physical therapy just from being in the middle of nature. The Citizens of Oakville value their green space very highly and most of them do not know how difficult it has been for the past twenty years for vigilant citizens to try and keep some balance between massive development and the necessity of preserving some of our natural ecosystem as a functional connected system.
Our natural green infrastructure supplies valuable services in flood management, air and water quality protection, biodiversity maintenance and climate change mitigation. As our green fields, woodlands, wetlands, species habitat and meadowlands disappear under every expanding concrete, metal, pandemonium and noise, the existence of the enhanced Greenbelt will be the legacy of our current Government.
We hope this request will find favour with you and the Greenbelt will be extended to include all the Merton Lands.
Thank you for your proposal to extend the Greenbelt in Ontario and please know that this is supported by a vast majority of voters in this Province.