Conveys our opposition the…

Conveys our opposition the ERO 019-7739 'Proposal to return lands to the Greenbelt - Greenbelt Statute Law Amendment Act, 2023'.

We would like to appeal the decision to make an accommodation for the identified Subject Lands to be removed from the Greenbelt.

See the attached PDF presentation for the request to remove these lands from the Greenbelt. The presentation in PowerPoint format is available upon request.

There needs to be a legal mechanism to allow the province to legislate removal of lands in the Greenbelt that are in a Major Transit Station Area (MTSA).

This allowance should be applied immediately for the Subject Lands that are in the Major Transit Station Area (MTSA) of west Grimsby and needs to be legislated for future 10-year Greenbelt Review Sessions.

The need to facilitate population growth and housing intensification around MTSAs are outlined in mandates by both the Provincial and Federal governments. The province must retain authority to permit Greenbelt Removal for MTSA lands where applicable - such as for the identified Subject Lands in west Grimsby – to foster Transit Oriented Communities (TOCs) where they belong.

1. The Subject Lands in west Grimsby (identified in an aerial map in the attached PDF) are within the MTSA of the Planned High Order Transit GO Train Station Hub for Grimsby and must be considered for Greenbelt Removal. The Province's Growth Plan sets out minimum density targets of 150 people and jobs per hectare in the area of GO stations. Justification for the removal the Subject Lands from the Greenbelt to facilitate the government mandates are outlined in great detail within the attached PDF document.

2. The Subject Lands in west Grimsby were never to have been included in the Greenbelt in the first place. They were included by mistake at the inception of the Greenbelt in 2005 which was to be corrected during the first scheduled 10-year Greenbelt Land Review in 2015. During the follow-up session in 2015 the correction was neglected by the Review Panel when the Town of Grimsby made a formal request for removal of the Subject Lands. Evidence for this and support for the removal of Greenbelt lands from the Town of Grimsby can be found in the attached PDF document.

We have also previously submitted comments to the following related ERO items:

ERO 019-6216 -> Proposed Amendments to the Greenbelt Plan
Comment Id's 66031, 68145 and 69291

ERO 019-6813 -> Review of proposed policies adapted from A Place to Grow and Provincial Policy Statement to form a new provincial planning policy instrument
Comment Id 88023