March 29, 2018…

March 29, 2018

Aidan Grove-White
Partnerships and Consultation Branch, Ministry of Municipal Affairs
777 Bay Street
c/o Business Management Division, 17th floor
Toronto ON M5G 1Z3
Canada

Dear Mr. Grove-White,

RE: Proposed modifications to O. Reg. 311/06 (Transitional Matters - Growth Plans) made under the Places to Grow Act, 2005 to implement the proposed methodology for land needs assessment for the Greater Golden Horseshoe (ERO# 013-2488)

The following comments are provided in response to the February 27, 2018 release of proposed modifications to O. Reg. 311/06 (Transitional Matters - Growth Plans) made under the Places to Grow Act, 2005 to implement the proposed methodology for land needs assessment for the Greater Golden Horseshoe (GGH). On February 28, 2018, Through report PDL-CPL-18-05 the Region of Waterloo provided comments on the Proposed Land Needs Assessment Methodology for the Greater Golden Horseshoe, including specific comments related to the treatment of the undelineated built boundary as designated greenfield area (DGA).

The proposed transition regulations are being introduced to facilitate implementation of the Growth Plan through a standard methodology for land needs assessment. The proposed modification would make an exception for settlement areas in the inner ring of the GGH that are identified as hamlets in the Greenbelt Plan, rural settlements in the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan or minor urban centres in the Niagara Escarpment Plan to exempt these areas from the Growth Plan density target for DGA This would mean that these areas would not need to be treated as DGA for the purposes of land needs assessment.

This proposed exemption would not apply to the outer ring of the GGH. In the outer ring, all undelineated built-up areas would be considered DGA and would be subject to the minimum density target for the DGA unless they are identified as excess lands. Any lands identified as excess lands and subject to the development restrictions that the Growth Plan policies require would no longer meet the definition of DGA.

In the context of the Region of Waterloo, there are approximately 54 rural settlement areas that would meet the definition of undelineated built-up area. Together, these areas comprise a significant land area of approximately 2,000 gross hectares. While there are limited opportunities for new growth in these areas, considering these areas to be DGA and subject to density requirements will have density implications for the balance of the DGA. The rural settlement areas that would be considered as undelineated built-up areas were developed historically and at low densities (approximately 8 residents and jobs per hectare) due to the privately-serviced nature of these settlement areas. Furthermore, these areas were developed prior to the Growth Plan, 2006 and were not subject to mandated Provincial density requirements.

Areas meeting the definition of undelineated built up area did not contribute to the achievement of the DGA density target or the Built-Up Area intensification target in the Region of Waterloo’s 2009 Land Budget. The requirement of the Growth Plan, 2017 and the Proposed Land Needs Assessment Methodology for the Greater Golden Horseshoe to treat the undelineated built up area as DGA will have significant implications related to DGA density in the Region of Waterloo.

Policy 2.2.7.3 of the Growth Plan requires that the minimum density target be measured over the entirety of the DGA. Including the undelineated built-up area as part of the DGA combined with this policy requirement has implications for the form of development and the ultimate density to be achieved on the undeveloped portions of the DGA. Including land area of the undelineated built up areas at low densities will require the balance of the undeveloped DGA to compensate for these low densities in order to achieve the minimum density target across the entirety of the DGA. The resulting impact will be that the undeveloped portions of the DGA will be required to accommodate higher densities (much in excess of the minimum target of 80 residents and jobs per hectare mandated by the Growth Plan) in order to compensate for low densities that have occurred historically in undelineated built-up areas. This approach is not reasonable.

Furthermore, it is likely that this approach will necessitate the request for an alternative target as the resulting densities and associated urban form are not appropriate given the location and configuration of the undeveloped DGA in the Region of Waterloo. It should be recognized that even for outer ring municipalities, the ability to request an alternative target still may not rectify the density implications as Policy 2.2.7.4 c) i. of the Growth Plan requires that the alternative target not been less than what is currently in effect in an approved official plan.

The excess lands policies of the new Growth Plan do not assist in remedying these concerns. There is very little potential for new growth with the areas meeting the definition of undelineated built up area in the context of the Region of Waterloo. As a result, the ability to identify lands within undelineated built up areas as excess and therefore not subject to the Growth Plan density requirements does not alleviate this concern. To reiterate, the concern lies with the existing development within undelineated built up areas and the magnitude of the impact that treating these areas as designated greenfield area has in terms of density compensation, the overall DGA density target and associated form of development for the undeveloped DGA.

As a result, the Region of Waterloo requests that the proposed modifications to O. Reg. 311/06 (Transitional Matters - Growth Plans) made under the Places to Grow Act, 2005, be amended such that outer ring municipalities are also provided with the latitude to exempt undelineated built up areas from the designated greenfield area density target where municipal services are not available and where there are limited opportunities for additional growth

Please feel free to contact Michelle Sergi at Msergi@regionofwaterloo.ca or 519-575-4521 if you require any additional information or have any questions.

Regards,

Rod Regier
Commissioner
Planning, Development and Legislative Services