1. Changes should not be…

1. Changes should not be made, which supersede local planning, unless there has been thorough consultation with local planners, and those changes are consistent with the context of the residential area in question.
So, that, before any property can be altered, the city planners and those residents in the area in question can assess the cumulative impact on the neighbourhood of subsequent 'additional unit' changes.
2. There should be no need to supersede local plans if proper consultation and consideration is given to all the needs of the community.

3.. The removal of development charges,parkland dedication and cash-in -lieu requirements, will result in significant deterioration in the quality of life in many neighbourhoods. Without these requirements and sources of income for municipalities, there will be insufficient green spaces for recreation and our communities are at risk of becoming concrete jungles, which are not consistent with raising children and maintaining the health of the population.

4. Local planners, with the input of the local people, are best informed and aware of the needs of the community. The sizes of units and number of parking spaces must be decided locally. It is not practical to decide these requirements by regulations that apply province-wide, without consideration for a particular local situation

5. Planning responsibility and approvals must be made at the local regional level. People in Ministry offices cannot possibly be welll-informed about local needs and cannot plan for the whole province
At present , the Region of Waterloo has a 30-year plan for development, which provides for thousands more housing units that the provincial plan requires, without encroaching onto local farmlands and natural areas which preserve our way of life and provide for the food and environmental needs of our region.
'If it ain't broke, don't fix it!!!'

6. All the remaining changes reflect the Provincial Government's disregard and disrespect for the knowledge and skills of local planners, and disregard for the needs of the residents of Waterloo region.
Planning, approvals take time and consideration of many points of view and satisfactory outcomes cannot be achieved by preemptive dictating, when the only gain of this approach is speed.
There is no need for the speed that is at the root of all of these changes. There are already approvals for residential development which developers have yet to begin building! There are already over 88,000 acres of land within municipalities and beyond the Greenbelt, already prepared for development, all of which can proceed without overriding local planning.
Provincial regulations changes must recognize that the Region of Waterloo already had better plans than your 'changes' can possibly accomplish.

6. Without the authoritative guidance of Conservation Authorities, there is no hope for preserving the environment in Ontario in a fashion that protects our way of life. There simply are not equivalent man-made solutions for flooding, wildlife preservation, food production that are as cost-effective and successful as those that nature has provided. Scientific research and past experience in other parts of the world attest to the fact that we cannot be so arrogant as to demolish and override nature and think we can avoid condemning ourselves to inferior living conditions.