It appears that the Land…

It appears that the Land Needs Assessment Methodology proposed methodology changes could take the Growth Plan away from ‘target-based’ to ‘market demand based’ land needs assessments.

In the face of Federal and Provincial emission reduction targets and the looming impact of climate change on our food and water supplies, land needs should be very carefully targeted. These become part of the needed policy measures that will help us meet our climate change goals.

The market alone cannot be allowed to drive land use; we have to curb urban sprawl and protect prime agricultural land.

Short term profits for a few gained by conversion of agricultural land to residential land should not be allowed to drive Land Needs. Long term community social needs should be the driver of land use; land is a scarce community asset which must be guarded for future generations. A target based method must be used to accomplish this, not market based assessments which are driven by commercial interests.