Thank you for the…

Thank you for the opportunity to review and comment on the Get It Done Act, 2024 and its proposed changes to the Official Plan Adjustments Act to reinstate municipally requested modifications to official plans. We note that the mapping aligns with City Council’s motion of November 27, 2023 requesting that lands within southwest Kitchener be added to the urban area. The Act would replace Map 3 (Employment Areas) and adjust Map 1 (Regional Structure) and Map 2 (Urban System) in accordance with Map 3.

Required changes to the Urban Area, Agricultural System and Designated Greenfield Area on Maps 1 and 2 can be inferred, however, it is not clear to City staff if or how the Countryside Line on Map 1 would be adjusted. The ministerial modifications made to the Regional Official Plan Amendment 6 on April 11, 2023 adjusted the Countryside Line on Map 1 such that the entire Urban Area was within it. While the additional lands added to southwest Kitchener have been reinstated in Bill 162, the associated modifications to the Countryside Line have not. If the Countryside Line is not adjusted, some of the lands added to the urban area would be outside the Countryside Line, contradicting Regional Official Plan policies. The City requests that revised versions of Maps 1 and 2 be included as part of the Act, or alternatively adjustments to the Countryside Line be described in the legislation.

City staff continue to have questions regarding how the 2051 population and employment forecast, intensification target, Designated Greenfield Area density target, and additional Designated Greenfield Area can work together because the amount of Designated Greenfield Area has changed, but the targets and forecast numbers have not. These figures are interrelated and cannot be adjusted independently according to the prescribed Land Needs Assessment methodology. Any advice in this regard would be appreciated.