June 19, 2018 Aidan Grove…

June 19, 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RE: Draft Guidance to Support Implementation of the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe, 2017: Application of the Intensification and Density Targets and The Municipal Comprehensive Review Process (ERO# 013-2359)

The following comments are provided in response to the March 21, 2018 release of Draft Guidance to Support Implementation of the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe, 2017: Application of the Intensification and Density Targets and The Municipal Comprehensive Review Process (MCR).

Draft Technical Guidance on the Application of the Intensification and Density Targets

The purpose of this draft guidance document is to support the implementation of the various targets contained in the Growth Plan, 2017. Generally speaking, the draft document provides additional detail on Growth Plan targets and tasks that must be undertaken to implement these targets. There are several areas with respect to the targets that require additional clarification or refinement, including the treatment of the Undelineated Built-up Areas, Alternative Target Requests and Major Transit Station Areas (MTSA).

Undelineated Built-Up Areas

The Growth Plan and related guidance documents require that where a settlement does not have a delineated built boundary (i.e., undelineated built up areas), the entire settlement area is considered DGA (unless it is identified as excess lands).

This means that for outer ring municipalities, where no transition has been provided for under O. Reg. 311/06, 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 of approximately 220 persons and jobs per hectare (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 does 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. Nor do the policies of the ROP provide for expansions to these settlement areas for residential purposes. 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 DGA has in terms of density compensation, the overall DGA density target and associated form of development for the undeveloped DGA.

Alternative Targets

The draft document provides detailed guidance on the process and the documentation required in support of alternative target requests. However, the documents do not provide details regarding the anticipating timing for a Provincial response to these requests. Provincial approval of an alternative target request is a key milestone in the MCR process and one which a number of other tasks (i.e. the assessment of land needs) are contingent upon. If a timely response to an alternative target request is not provided, it has the potential to stall progress on and/or impact the work plan related to the balance of the MCR. The guidance document should contain timing expectations for a Provincial response to an alternative target request, ideally 30 days or less. A commitment to timing through the Provincial guidance documents will inform and guide the development of work plans related to the municipal comprehensive review by ensuring that timeframes are appropriate and reflect reasonable response times. It is also of importance that the appropriate Provincial staff (i.e. staff ultimately responsible for the review and endorsement of the Land Needs Assessment) are directly involved in the discussions leading up to an alternative target request.

Employment Area Density Target

Unlike the DGA density target, the Growth Plan does not contain policy specifying the area subject to the Employment Area density target. The measurement of this target should be measured across an area consistent with the area subject to the DGA density targets, meaning that the permitted take outs under Growth Plan policy 2.2.7.3 should also apply to the measurement of density for the Employment Areas. This will ensure that densities are measured in a consistent manner across the various Growth Plan policy areas (i.e. DGA and Employment Areas). Specifying through guidance the area that is subject to the Employment Area target will assist in ensuring consistency in approach across the GGH.

Major Transit Station Areas (MTSA)

The Region is supportive in principle of the requirement to delineate and actively plan for minimum densities within MTSAs. However, some flexibility in approach is required. In the Region of Waterloo, the cities of Kitchener and Waterloo have been actively planning for growth and development within the MTSAs associated with the ION LRT system for the past several years. Fundamental to developing these resource-intensive plans has been robust and extensive public consultation to develop the long term vision for these areas. This planning process has recently culminated in the adoption of station area plans for the MTSAs within the City of Waterloo and for three MTSAs within the City of Kitchener. These plans and the related delineation of the MTSA are premised upon a requirement of the ROP to consider the area within 600 to 800 meters of the station (generally aligning with MTO’s Transit Supportive Guidelines). The Region is concerned that the combination of Growth Plan policy and the requirements of the guidance document do not provide sufficient flexibility to recognize station area plans for Growth Plan MTSAs that have been recently completed. Furthermore, there is concern that the policy direction may require these plans be revisited to align with the direction provided related to delineation in the Growth Plan (i.e. planning to achieve 160 persons and jobs per hectare within the 500 meter delineation).

Draft Technical Guidance on the Municipal Comprehensive Review Process

The purpose of this draft guidance document is to support the implementation of the municipal comprehensive review process as required by the policies of the Growth Plan, 2017. Overall, the draft document provides detailed expectations for municipalities of the supporting documentation required to be submitted to the Province with the new Official Plan or Official Plan Amendment resulting from the MCR. While the document provides a comprehensive overview of Growth Plan policies and the required tasks of a MCR, there are several areas of the draft document that require clarification or refinement including MCR sequencing and Excess Lands in order to improve the usability of the draft document for municipalities.

Excess Lands

The draft document addresses the requirement for outer ring municipalities to identify excess lands should the Land Needs Assessment determine that a municipality has more land than is required to accommodate growth to 2041. Growth Plan policy 2.2.1.6 requires that the excess lands are identified based on the municipality’s urban structure. However, no guidance is provided should all of undeveloped designated lands that could potentially be deemed as excess are located within the same category of settlement area as identified in the hierarchy of settlement areas. The Region requests that the draft document contain additional criteria such as municipal infrastructure, land use configuration, proximity to existing or planned transit service, etc. that should be considered by a municipality when identifying excess lands.

Please feel free to contact Michelle Sergi, Director of Community Planning at MSergi@regionofwaterloo.ca or 519-575-4521 or Alyssa Bridge, Principal Planner at ABridge@regionofwaterloo.ca or 519-575-4757 ext. 3417 if you require any additional information or have any questions.

Regards,

Michelle Sergi, MCIP, RPP
Acting Commissioner
Planning, Development and Legislative Services

Cc: Scott Oliver, Ministry of Municipal Affairs (London Office)