I am opposed to giving the…

I am opposed to giving the Minister of MA and H additional MZO powers by removing the municipalities' control over Site Plan Approval for development proposals subject to MZOs.

Site Plan Approval belongs to the lower tier government which has planning staff better qualified to regulate and assess local conditions. For the Province to assume Site Plan Approval will require duplicate staffing at the provincial level which is unnecessary and a waste of taxpayers' money.

With the exception of provincial appeals tribunals, the Province has always been at an arm's length to local municipal planning, and that is how it should stay except for certain circumstances. Such circumstances include the Niagara Escarpment Plan and the Greenbelt Plan where there are geographical features which are of provincial significance extending across several municipalities.

Your government complains about "mandate creep" by conservations authorities. I accuse your government of the same "mandate creep" with respect to its eagerness to take over Zoning Bylaw Amendment and Site Plan Approval from municipalities through MZOs. Don't make this change to the Planning Act, which has worked just fine for decades.

Remember, the larger the level of government, the more remote it is from local affairs, and the larger the mistakes are which it makes.

Thank you.