I am writing to you about…

I am writing to you about concerns with BILL 66.

I am concerned that Bill 66, ONTARIO’S COMPETITIVENESS ACT, is opening opportunities that are ill considered. Letting municipalities pass an “Open for Business Planning By-Law” with no conditions (implied or implicit) produces (or augments) a disturbing (or already disturbed) relationship between the city and its people. The possibility of developers, often out of town, lusting after the protected fruits ...the heritage...of Ontario cities has been a real and unwelcome occurrence for many.

The Provincial Planning Act and the Provincial Policy Statement presently say that “significant built heritage resources and significant cultural landscapes shall be conserved”. This a check to keep in balance indiscriminate development inappropriate for, or not respecting of, the history of any municipality, the Official Plan, the Planning Act of a locale, ... or its citizenry.

Being too cavalier in not supporting the agreements of a provincial plan, statement, policy, or an official plan (a city document rendered with public input) can beget unintended consequences with the electorate as provincial governments, past and present, have discovered.

The notion that NO avenue of appeal (for example, the LOCAL PLANNING APPEALS TRIBUNAL) will be available to the people or that NO notice need be given to the public about a development proposal places the perception of this government as being squarely in the position of seeming favouritism of the developer over all others. Amendment after amendment requested by developers and allowed by a planning department over many objections, often alters an original proposal ... dividing communities.

The weight of input by the public and the influence of the developer need to be “in balance” for successful, progressive, and harmonious communities. We have these checks in place. Why disallow them?

As an Ontarian, I don’t want BILL 66 to remove the balancing protections of the Planning Act and Provincial Policy Statements for significant built heritage resources and significant cultural landscapes ANYWHERE in this province.