The City of Brampton …

The City of Brampton (hereinafter referred to as ‘the City’) appreciates the opportunity to provide comments on the proposed changes outlined in the Environmental Registry of Ontario posting 025-113 – Refining a protected corridor of land for future electricity transmission infrastructure in the Northwest Greater Toronto Area, made under the Planning Act.

The City is supportive of efforts by the Province to reduce the Narrowed Area of Interest (NAI), thereby releasing critical lands for development in the Heritage Heights Secondary Plan (HHSP) area.
However, the City is concerned about the impact of the relocated NAI, and the significant land use, transportation, and environmental impacts the transmission corridor will have on the City. This relocation of the NAI does not consider the OLT-approved HHSP, the ongoing technical studies in support of the HHSP, and existing development applications that are moving through the development approvals process. These revisions will cause significant delays, halting much needed housing and job creation in 4,000 acres of Brampton forcing the secondary plan to start from scratch.
The proposed NAI and any deviation from the existing NAI is not supported by the City of Brampton for the following reasons:

1. The proposed refinements do not optimize Brampton’s remaining greenfield lands by effectively co-locating the NAI and Highway 413;
2. The proposed NAI pauses the completion of technical studies that support growth and development in Heritage Heights, impacting the ability to proceed with development in the near-term;
3. The proposed changes do not mitigate impacts to the natural environment;
4. The proposed NAI impacts in-progress development applications and City-owned lands; and
5. The proposed NAI is inconsistent with Provincial Policy and previous materials shared by the Ministry and IESO.

Please see the attached letter for detailed comments.