10 Reasons to reconsider…

10 Reasons to reconsider Bill 66

1) This proposed Bill 66, appears to be in conflict with provincially required and approved municipal official plans and zoning bylaws that would be subject to change, by creating jobs on lands potentially inappropriate for the land use and/or the community.

2) There is no required municipal advance notice for public input on a job creating Planning Act application. Therefore, potentially it is left to municipal/developer back room deals, as there is no requirement for transparency or municipal accountability.

3) The municipal politician is required to advocate for the local residents and will not be able to fulfill this provincially legislated duty, as they will not be able to say no, to an application under the context of creating jobs, despite constituents not having a voice through their locally elected councillor on the Planning Act proposal.

4) Further municipal politicians are the most accessible to influencers and large land owners in a municipality. This Bill if passed, will lead to a perceived conflict of interest and potential distrust of local politicians by hiding development applications negotiations from the public.

5) Municipal Councils will be able to invoke 'in camera', sessions using the Planning Act based on this proposed Bill, to keep secret developer driven applications/negotiations from the tax paying public.

6) If a development that creates jobs is proposed under the changes proposed from this Bill, the municipality does not have an appeal process for a flawed/inappropriate development application or non-conforming land use.

7) The Provincial Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing appears to take no responsibility or provide any transparency for applications that are driven by developers, not in compliance with Official plans and Secondary plans. Therefore the provincial recognition of Official plans appears to place the minister in conflict, by having municipalities not follow their approved official plans without any consequence to both the province and municipalities, due to this provincially driven action.

8) This Bill under the Planning Act usurps the integrity of the Province of Ontario recognized professional planners and their requirement to uphold the Planning Act, oversee implementation of Official Plans/Secondary Plans/zoning bylaws, other acts affecting development applications as well as the concept of "good planning principles". As the planning tools currently used do not all apply, potentially leading to undermining of planning principals without any responsibility or discipline from any governing body.

9) If a development application under the guise of creating jobs, under the Planning Act based on this Bill 66 proposal, undermines the function of planning departments by preventing stakeholder/public participation, leading to lack of transparency or accountability of municipal staff, leading to distrust of municipal planning staff due to the provincially proposed changes.

10) It appears matters of long term environmental and public health are being set aside for short small term job gains, by not requiring the use of noted Provincial Acts or sections of Acts as noted in (6) 1. - 14. The proposed provincial changes will drive secretive municipal activities undermining community values and needs, reflecting on the Provinces lack of respect of local government and local planning matters.