The proposed changes to the…

The proposed changes to the PPS undermine the public's interest in preserving resources for future populations, specifically: our limited prime agricultural land; heritage areas; employment areas; and environmental sustainability. These major losses are made in favour of production of new housing, when there has been no demonstrated NEED for additional land for housing in the Province or GGH - and certainly not enough to justify such major changes to these areas of public interest concern. Many of the proposed changes will encourage low density, car-oriented development rather than development that is more environmentally sustainable by walking or transit.

The elimination of a Municipal Comprehensive Review eliminates the requirement to study the serviceability and costs of infrastructure to develop new lands, in order to identify which areas would be the most efficient to develop (. . . or whether lands can be economically serviced, at all). The burden for major expansions of infrastructure will fall to local taxpayers and to all taxpayers for provincially- funded components. The Growth Plan was created (in part) because of concerns for Infrastructure funding and the best deployment of public resources in planning for growth. This valid concern is totally ignored in the new PPS.

The rights of citizens and of municipalities is also undermined by these changes, in favour of Provincial decisions that may be arbitrary or that favour specific interests, including specific land owners - the latter being very evident in the approval of Minister's Zoning Orders. In many cases, the approval of new land by such mechanisms is merely providing a financial windfall for specific owners who then take a profit from development permissions and sell the land, without adding any housing.

There are far less impactful means of increasing land available for housing, if indeed there IS a need for that, than these major changes to public interest concerns and fiscal responsibility.