Thank you for the…

Thank you for the opportunity to provide input on the proposed Provincial Planning Statement. Please note that the following comments and recommendations are provided by Peel Region in response to the above posting and are endorsed by Region of Peel Council. If additional comments are provided through a Council resolution, they will be forwarded to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing for consideration.

Please note that Peel staff have already provided separate comment responses on the Environmental Registry of Ontario (ERO) and Ontario Regulatory Registry postings relating to changes to the Planning Act, site plans for residential developments of 10 or fewer units, tenant protection, residential rental demolition and conversion control provisions in Bill 97, Helping Homebuyers and Protecting Tenants Act and the Helping Homebuyers, Protecting Tenants Plan.

Peel staff comments are provided in the attachment, which identifies suggestions for the proposed Provincial Planning Statement (PPS), which are made based on Peel’s experience in these areas. Key recommendations address the need to:

• provide appropriate transition to address uncertainty and potential conflicts with implementation of the proposed PPS;
• provide more effective policy direction for large and fast-growing municipalities to strengthen and better integrate growth management, infrastructure, and environmental planning;
• clarify and retain direction to protect employment areas including office and other uses in designated areas of employment;
• include definitions for affordable ownership and rental housing and policies to enable municipalities to establish and implement targets to support efforts to secure affordable housing; and,
• provide stronger policy direction for climate change and watershed planning and protection standards for agriculture and natural systems to ensure policies for housing development are balanced with the need to protect the environment.

Peel looks forward to continuing to work with the Province, local municipalities, and other stakeholders to meet Ontario’s housing needs. I would be pleased to provide any clarifications or additional comments on these matters.

Yours Respectfully,

Tara Buonpensiero, MCIP, RPP
Acting Chief Planner and Director of Planning & Development Services Tara.Buonpensiero@peelregion.ca
437-218-7724

Cc:
Andrew Whittemore, Commissioner, Planning & Building, City of Mississauga
Steve Ganesh, Commissioner of Planning, Building and Growth Management, City of Brampton
Antonietta Minichillo, Director of Planning and Chief Planner, Town of Caledon