The proposed changes to the…

The proposed changes to the Planning Act raise significant concerns for communities like Long Branch in South Etobicoke, where residents are already experiencing rapid intensification, infrastructure strain, and increasing pressure on neighbourhood stability and livability.

Removing the requirement for municipalities to include climate change policies in official plans is particularly concerning for waterfront communities like Long Branch. Climate policies are not redundant — they are essential. Long Branch faces growing risks associated with flooding, stormwater capacity, urban heat, tree canopy loss, and shoreline impacts connected to climate change. Residents are experiencing significant challenges in obtaining flood insurance which is expensive and on the verge of not being offered at all. Municipal planning policies recognize that increasing density next to the lake must be done carefully so as not to compromise local infrastructure. Municipal agencies help ensure that new development considers green infrastructure, tree protection, sustainable transportation, stormwater management, and resilient community design. Eliminating this requirement weakens the ability of municipalities to plan responsibly for the long-term environmental and financial impacts of growth. As intensification continues in South Etobicoke, climate-conscious planning is becoming more important, not less.

The proposed reduction in provincial oversight of Protected Major Transit Station Areas (PMTSAs) is concerning for communities like Long Branch and Lake Shore West, particularly as nearby areas continue to face growing intensification pressures. While Long Branch itself is not currently an approved PMTSA, planning policies connected to transit-oriented growth along the Lake Shore corridor continue to influence development expectations in the community. Additionally, the local planning regime is making broad decisions for the approved P/MTSAs which will automatically be pushed onto Long Branch when approved. Specifically Sixplexes which were refused by City Council as the test pilot area had no examples of successful sixplexes being built despite the approval. Residents have already seen substantial increases in proposed density and building heights along major corridors that have resulted in no building at all, only an increase in land value. Matching investments in schools, parks, transit capacity, road infrastructure, healthcare services, and other community amenities are often years too late instead of thoughtful coordinated growth.

Reducing provincial review of PMTSA-related changes risks creating a planning environment where intensification can expand with less oversight and accountability. This is especially concerning in South Etobicoke, where existing infrastructure is already under pressure. Long Branch is primarily served by a streetcar corridor and GO Transit rather than a higher-order subway system, yet development pressures continue to increase well beyond what much of the surrounding infrastructure was originally designed to support. Communities need assurance that growth will be coordinated with infrastructure, services, and livability considerations, rather than driven solely by density targets. Presently, city led approvals of density increase along these areas are in hope that the health and transit which are provincial responsibilities will magically appear.

The proposal to allow lower-tier municipalities to be exempt from conformity with upper-tier official plans also raises concerns about the loss of coordinated and balanced planning. In Toronto and the broader GTA, regional planning frameworks help coordinate transportation, servicing, environmental protections, employment lands, and housing targets across municipal boundaries. Planning in Long Branch is as fragmented as the lot ownership with no coordinated approach to growth that increases services in sync with growth. Designated hospitals are far away, density is being pushed onto the Long Branch GO station with no financial commitment to electrification to increase service and school spaces do not have the flexibility so siblings can attend the same school and are often on opposite ends of Etobicoke. Weakening conformity requirements could lead to fragmented planning decisions that prioritize short-term development approvals over long-term community planning. Residents are increasingly concerned that local voices are being diminished while planning authority becomes more centralized at the provincial level.

For communities like Long Branch, thoughtful planning matters. Residents support appropriate growth and housing renewal that fits within the character and infrastructure capacity of the neighbourhood. However, growth must be accompanied by proper infrastructure, environmental protections, public consultation, and coordinated planning. These proposed changes risk weakening safeguards that help ensure communities remain livable, sustainable, and resilient for future generations.

Weakening or removing green development standards would be particularly harmful for a waterfront community like Long Branch, which sits along the shoreline of Lake Ontario, within a migratory bird corridor, and in an area already vulnerable to flooding and stormwater challenges. These standards are not unnecessary burdens — they are practical tools that help protect residents, infrastructure, and the natural environment as growth and intensification continue in South Etobicoke.

Enhanced stormwater management and green infrastructure requirements are especially important in Long Branch because parts of the community already experience flooding pressures during major storm events. As more properties are redeveloped and permeable surfaces are replaced with larger buildings, driveways, and hard landscaping, the risk of stormwater runoff increases significantly. Green infrastructure measures such as permeable landscaping, enhanced stormwater retention, tree planting, bioswales, and green streets help reduce pressure on aging infrastructure and lower the risk of flooding for existing residents. Removing or weakening these standards could increase long-term costs to both taxpayers and homeowners as municipalities struggle to address worsening flood risks and infrastructure strain.

Ecology and biodiversity standards are also critical in Long Branch due to its location along the Lake Ontario shoreline and migratory bird routes. Native plantings, biodiverse green roofs, and bird-friendly glazing help support pollinators, migratory birds, and urban wildlife that depend on these waterfront corridors. Bird strikes against reflective glass buildings are already a major environmental concern along the Great Lakes shoreline. Reducing bird-friendly design standards would move communities backward at a time when biodiversity loss is becoming a growing issue across Ontario. Long Branch’s mature tree canopy and green spaces are part of what makes the community livable and environmentally resilient, and redevelopment should strengthen these features rather than erode them.

Electric vehicle readiness standards are equally important for ensuring that communities are prepared for the future. The long term future of Ontario will transition toward cleaner transportation, requiring EV-ready parking spaces in new developments avoids expensive retrofits later and supports reduced greenhouse gas emissions over the long term. This very government made a significant commitment to EV battery manufacturing, while the short term manufacturing of EVs in Ontario has been postponed the economics are temporary. High gas prices have renewed interest in the EV industry and it is short sighted that buildings built to last for 50 – 100 years will not need these retrofits and it is the building industry’s design to pass that expense onto the next guy. Removing these requirements may save developers short-term costs but would leave future residents and businesses paying more to upgrade infrastructure that could have been installed during construction.

For communities like Long Branch, green development standards are not abstract policy ideas — they directly affect flooding resilience, environmental protection, public health, energy transition, and quality of life. As development pressures continue to intensify along the waterfront, these standards help ensure that growth occurs responsibly and sustainably. Weakening them risks creating short-term gains at the expense of long-term environmental and financial consequences for residents and future generations.

The proposal to remove the legislative requirement for the Minister to provide notice of amendments to or revocations of Minister’s Zoning Orders (MZOs) is deeply troubling and represents a serious erosion of transparency, accountability, and public trust in Ontario’s planning system. It is shameful that this government no longer appears to believe that residents, municipalities, and impacted communities deserve even the most basic notice when extraordinary planning powers are being used.

MZOs are among the most powerful planning tools available to the Province. They can override local planning policies, municipal official plans, zoning by-laws, environmental considerations, and years of community consultation in a matter of days. The very least Ontarians should expect is transparency when these powers are exercised. Removing the requirement for notice sends a message that the Province views public input and municipal awareness as obstacles rather than essential components of democratic planning. There are two local examples to Long Branch that will suffer from MZOs the Lakeview development which was a result of years of all stakeholders sitting at the table to be doubled in size with no thought to the impacts of surrounding neighbourhoods. The Island Ariport is also a significant change where the expansion is beyond safety for turbo props, but changing to permit jets. I for one am not interested in the sounds of the airshow all day every day and night.

Communities like Long Branch in South Etobicoke have already experienced the cumulative impacts of intensification, infrastructure strain, loss of green space, and growing pressure on stable residential neighbourhoods. Residents are increasingly concerned about decisions being made without meaningful consultation or local accountability. Eliminating notice requirements for MZO changes further undermines confidence that planning decisions are being made fairly, openly, or in the public interest.

The government’s justification that these changes will “streamline” approvals and “reduce costs” ignores the long-term consequences of excluding the public from planning decisions that directly affect their neighbourhoods, environment, infrastructure, and quality of life. Good planning requires transparency and collaboration, not secrecy and concentration of power.

It is equally concerning that the Province characterizes environmental impacts as “neutral” while simultaneously weakening climate planning requirements, facilitating additional intensification pressures, and reducing oversight mechanisms. Waterfront communities like Long Branch are already dealing with flood risks, aging infrastructure, tree canopy loss, and environmental pressures connected to Lake Ontario and migratory bird corridors. Suggesting these changes will have little environmental impact ignores the real-world consequences communities are already facing.

The proposed changes to parkland dedication policies are also highly problematic. Public parks are not interchangeable with privately owned public spaces or encumbered lands controlled through agreements. Residents deserve accessible, functional, publicly controlled parkland — not fragmented or constrained spaces that primarily serve surrounding developments. Allowing developers to satisfy parkland requirements through encumbered lands and POPS risks reducing the quality, usability, and long-term public control of open space in rapidly intensifying communities.

The repeated framing of these changes as merely reducing “administrative burden” or requiring municipal staff to “learn about the changes” minimizes the significant impacts these reforms will have on local democracy, infrastructure planning, environmental protection, and community livability. Municipalities are not simply administrative hurdles. They are elected governments responsible for protecting the interests of their residents and ensuring growth is properly supported by infrastructure and services.

Ontario residents deserve a planning system that is transparent, accountable, environmentally responsible, and respectful of local communities. Removing notice requirements for MZOs and further centralizing planning powers moves the Province in the opposite direction.