Given each of these target…

Given each of these target areas & “fast growing” municipalities are unique, with their own challenges, I am submitting these comments specifically for the MZO & subsequent mechanisms proposed for the Nanticoke Industrial Park - which would result in rezoning these lands to residential allowing for them construction of 15,000 new homes, housing upwards of 40,000 people within the existing Nanticoke Industrial Park which is home to 2 major heavy industrial employers & multiple auxiliary businesses.

The existing 3 kilometre buffer zone is composed of woodland and farmland, preserved because zero new housing has been permitted after existing homes were dismantled 50 years ago.

There can be no compromise on allowing housing … whether it be 40,000 people or 400 or even 40 the threat to Lake Erie Steel Works, Imperial / Esso, & any future industrial development will come from complaints about heavy industry noise, dust, odour, truck traffic, vibration, soot, dust, health risks. Housing & heavy industry are mutually exclusive.

I will address my concerns using the 6 themes detailed in the EBR Posting;

Residential land supply
If there was no other lands within Haldimand County, or along the municipal boundary shared by Haldimand & Norfolk Counties, to consolidate & service than this proposal would make sense. But the village of Townsend still has ample lands which can be reconsolidated around existing infrastructure without creating conflict with existing heavy industry, who are major local employers & industrial taxpayers. One must question will the loss of these industrial zoned lands to residential development be replaced locally elsewhere? If this question has not been answered, it should be, as duplicating what the Nanticoke Industrial Park has, with access to rail & water transportation with an established utility corridor. And who pays & coordinates the required consultation required to establish this “new” area for industry to develop. Can we afford to duplicate the development required to build the infrastructure specifically invested for industrial development within the area defined as the Nanticoke Industrial Park. Bottomline residential land supply must go hand in hand with industrial land supply as without the one you cannot have the other.

Attainable housing supply and mix
The existing residents of the village of Nanticoke have shared their personal experiences that such a development & it’s new residents will have to deal with by living beside heavy industry. Existing industry has forewarned managing these concerns & assisting the cleanup of the byproducts of their production, as a good responsible neighbour, will exceed their economic capacity with the addition of 15,000 new homes.
Rather than focus on legislating the fast tracking of lands to encourage development - focus on creating the framework which requires an affordable mix of housing for developers to gain access to said lands. We can all agree the supply of housing is an issue - supply can only be addressed by ensuring all future developments be required to have an appropriate mix of housing - & this is where the province, & even the federal government restricting the infrastructure funding pursestrings, can regulate. NIMBY, at the local level, continues to be an issue municipal councils struggle with, when it comes to residential development. Take this out of their hands & developers will have no choice but to provide a mix of housing or they will not be able to gain access to any new supply.
In the case of the Nanticoke Industrial Park, supply & mix can be developed elsewhere, given there is ample local lands available to consolidate elsewhere - lands which would not create conflict or threaten the loss of major employers - all because of poor planning.

Growth management
Growth requires not only land but infrastructure, which requires a strong industrial sector which provides employment & a tax base. Other than that the Nanticoke Industrial Park has a large block of land, which could accommodate such a large residential development, no other amenities exist. The developer promises to address some of these, but again this infrastructure & these supporting services exist elsewhere, under-utilized. Growth requires more than infrastructure services but also requires adequate transportation capacity, community services, access to medical services & schools to name a few - all of which do not exist in the Nanticoke Industrial Park, & would exceed existing capacity if the latter were added to neighbouring communities already over burden services. Again planning requires forethought beyond the construction of a home & this proposal does not address these deficiencies.

Environment and natural resources
The industrial buffer of the Nanticoke Industrial Park was to prevent conflict w residential neighbours, these lands are for the most part farmland & forest, which creates green space & a natural buffer. The abundance of wildlife that thrives in this area, complimented by the natural landscape that serves to capture & naturally scrub carbon has been given no recognition. This is all lost if there is no buffer given between the industrial-residential interface.
No one has listened to industry when they’ve spoken to the improvements they’ve invested to become “cleaner” - the loss of this investment & future investments will come at a cost - it will also result in another community benefitting from their commitment when they move their operations to a more accommodating community. This will also undermine any future opportunity to further develop the Nanticoke Industrial Park as a leader in cleaner steel & fuel production. Yet undeveloped is the remaining connectivity through the utility corridor that remains from Hydro One - new green initiatives, small scale nuclear development - all could benefit to this corridor that provides access to Ontario & U.S. markets. This existing corridor also has yet unexplored opportunities which could expand new technologies which connect us & store our data - again an opportunity to be greener in this growing sector. An additional opportunity exists within our national security sector, NORAD, is seeking lands to build new facilities, central to Canada/U.S, w capacity for connectivity, including physical infrastructure that could utilize existing utility corridors that connect both countries. These opportunities require lands w buffers, not conducive to neighbouring subdivisions.

Community infrastructure
As spoken to previously, under-utilized municipal infrastructure capacity exists elsewhere, specifically the village of Townsend. Unfortunately we cannot solve all our problems by trying to build ourselves out of the housing shortage - a home has no value if you do not have access to water, have to sit in traffic on roads not meant to accommodate 15,000 new residents, have to drive an hour to a grocery store, cannot find a doctor, dentist or other professional services, have to travel outside of your municipality for community services, to a hospital or for schooling - again building of new homes should only happen after this capacity is built, so when this great influx arrives, we do not further undermine already existing stressed systems & services. Why do we see NIMBY associated w these major developments? In part due to frustration from existing residents who see this influx for what it is - poor planning. Want to build support for a growing Ontario, build capacity to support growth.

Streamlined planning framework
This only comes about through wholistic planning, again just building homes does not address the many considerations one must make to ensure every resident has access to infrastructure & services. Streamlining the process requires improved communication between all levels of government & longterm funding w performance measures that ensures transparency & accountability.

I trust some of these thoughts would apply elsewhere but my comments are specific to my community.

By no means am I opposed to development - I am just suggesting there is a better way, one in which all parties would benefit vs being pitted against each other.

In my opinion the developer has no standing on this matter, as they knowingly purchased these industrial lands, from a company forced to shore up their employees pension fund.

Can a developer profit from a change of location? If they were prepared to do the work to reconsolidate the Townsend site lands & if government works with them to sell the lands in the Nanticoke Industrial Park, to industry which will fuel the demand for homes.

Without industry you have no jobs, without jobs, just building it, thinking they will come is shortsighted & an economic Russian roulette w Haldimand & Norfolk counties local economy.

The last point I would like to make is we need to seriously look at densification & steering development clear of paving over anymore of our agricultural lands.

Our country has recently seen how our economy can be held hostage when we do not have capacity to produce our own goods in Canada - we must remember that we have a finite amount of agriculture land & we must plan around its conservation not the reverse.

Sadly many municipalities, & even provincial & federal ministry’s, believe we can build our way out of all the issues we face, that by bigger & larger developments this will lead to local prosperity.

Unfortunately cutting corners when we try to “fast track” projects will forgo the necessary planning & development to support these new residential developments. I was taught in life there are no shortcuts - you pay now or pay later - todays society has always pushed out these costs to the next generation to deal with. We wouldn’t need to do this is if when we planned future development we took into account all the required costs associated w building a sustainable community.