Slow down: Do not pass Bill…

Slow down: Do not pass Bill 23 or support the Proposed Amendments to the Greenbelt Plan until the province has consulted with affected stakeholders and key interest groups including AMO, the Chamber of Commerce, Conservation Authorities, and affordable housing advocates. The housing rationale used for these measures must be demonstrated to be sound; to date the measures proposed are not supported by planners, municipalities or housing advocates.
Allow Conservation Authorities to maintain their current role in permitting in regulated areas, and allow them to conserve land, reduce pollution via and use planning review and permits. Do not further consider Conservation Authority owned land for housing development. Uphold the purpose and rationale for Conservation Authority’s to be the second largest land owner in Ontario, preservation and conservation and stewardship of land with natural hazard risks.
Require a full Environmental Assessment for the Duffins York-Durham Sewage System servicing northern York Region.
Abandon the abolition of Regional Planning:. There are issues with regional planning, but there is no support from interests other than land speculation and developers for the elimination of an important coordinating role of regional government, particularly for infrastructure planning. If there is a rationale for the government’s proposal that serves the public interest we would like to see it.
Do not destroy the Greenbelt and Oak Ridges Moraine: There is enough land to build the housing Ontario needs for 30 years. Even BILD has said they do not need Greenbelt lands. This file really stinks; any self-respecting MPP and Councillor should immediately distance themselves from these hand-picked, unjustifiable removals from the Greenbelt.
Protect Wetlands, Natural Heritage and species at risk and protect Ontario from the inevitable risks of Climate Change! It is unfathomable that we even need to say this. Southern Ontario is an “ecoregion in crisis”. Removing more natural features here and adding protections to lands elsewhere obviously is not going to improve our ecoregion. Do not change the OWES wetland evaluation system. Maintain strong prohibitions on alteration of landscape in Ontario’s NHS and its features in the Provincial Policy Statement. Do not allow offsets, trades, or “compensation” agreements. Capitalize on the free service provided via natural asset management instead of infrastructure heavy and capital intensive engineered solutions.
Allow members of the public and conservation authorities to appeal Official Plan amendments and sprawl proposals to the Ontario Lands Tribunal. Make the playing field level once more by providing the same rights to both project proponents and to community players interested in challenging and / or improving planning proposals or Official Plans. Consider threshold levels to reduce appeals that are abusing the process.
Do not override Official Plans. For better or worse they are far more democratic than the proposals flowing out of the government of Ontario at this time.
Maintain the Provincial Policy Statement & Growth Plan, its density requirements, and support rational infrastructure phasing policies to make the best use of limited taxpayer and developer dollars.