I am writing to voice my…

I am writing to voice my concerns about Bill 185 and Provincial Planning Statement (PPS) 2024 and the negative and generational impacts they would have on Ontario if passed. My focus is on the environmental impacts of Bill 185 and PPS 2024.

PPS 2024 departs from the Growth Plan by removing mandatory intensification targets and deleting language in several policies that direct municipalities to prioritize intensification and redevelopment over sprawl.  PPS 2024 removes the requirement for certain municipalities in the Greater Golden Horseshoe to accommodate a minimum of 50% of residential development within their existing urban areas. By removing these targets, municipalities will no longer be required to ensure that a minimum percentage of residential development occurs within their existing urban areas.

PPS 2024 also proposes to significantly alter the policies related to new settlement areas and settlement area boundary expansions. These policy changes reduce the role of intensification and increase the role of greenfield development to accommodate residential growth.

Bill 185 reintroduces the ability to appeal municipal decisions on Official Plan Amendments related to settlement area boundaries, provided the proposed expansion does not result in land within the Greenbelt. This change is likely to increase speculation and encroachment on the region’s agricultural land base, Agricultural System, and Natural Heritage System. Outward urban expansion should be discouraged and any decision to change a settlement area boundary should remain part of a municipally-led comprehensive review of the official plan to ensure the most efficient use of existing infrastructure, and to discourage low-density greenfield development.

Ontario municipalities can anticipate more sprawl and settlement area boundary expansions as a result of these policies, and will be at a greater risk of air pollution, traffic congestion and flooding due to the downstream effects of the loss of permeable surfaces, natural spaces and agricultural lands.

These wrong-headed environmental policies need to be reconsidered and should instead encourage intensification, the maintenance of natural spaces and the conservation of agricultural lands.