Environmental protections…

Environmental protections are essential and not inconvenience. Healthy communities need a healthy environment.

I agree with the below comments from he St. Catharines city council about the negative impacts of Bill 23:

1. Bill 23, as presented, fails to address the stated goals of increasing housing supply, housing affordability, and improved process and instead will result in the loss of environmental protections, heritage conservation, urban design, and accountability to the public, in addition to severe financial implications for the City and Region, as follows:

a) Removing conservation of land and protection of significant environmental features, allowing development within protected areas worthy of protection.

b) Limiting tools for conservation of heritage resources.

c) Removal of primary quality control mechanism to promote good design.

d) Loss of cohesive Regional systems oversight with the removal of the Region of Niagara from review and approval of planning applications and Official Plan creation.

e) Elimination of appeal rights for the public on Planning Act applications and reduction in overall public consultation and involvement.

f) Transfer of financial responsibility from private developers to the individual property taxpayer.

Bill 23 needs to be deferred and meaningful consultation needs to take place.