Dear Environmental Registry…

Dear Environmental Registry of Ontario,

I am writing to you due to my concerns on the proposed Amendment 1 to The Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe, 2017. I worry that the proposed changes to the Ontario Growth Plan will not only encourage urban sprawl but end smart growth in the province.

Section 1.1 is amended by deleting “low-density urban sprawl” and replacing it with “unmanaged growth”. Efficient land use is an essential part of sustainable development, but “unmanaged growth” completely undermines this idea. Efficient land use is the idea of having compact, walkable, low-carbon, affordable and transit friendly cities. These close-knit cities are extremely beneficial as they save taxpayers millions of dollars in unnecessary infrastructure costs. In addition, these high density cities are critical for smart growth due to the great increase in population the Greater Golden Horseshoe will experience in the upcoming years.

The Greater Golden Horseshoe is the most populated place in Canada. Over the next 25 years our regions population is estimated to explode by 50%, to 13.5 million people. Although this is a great increase, there is enough space within existing cities and towns to accommodate the expected population growth until 2041. But the provincial government is not encouraging dense neighbourhoods in existing cities, yet urban sprawl.

The proposed changes that the provincial government is making, promotes the planning of low density housing cities. In 2017, the Liberal government set density targets of at least 80 people and jobs combined per hectare for development, whereas the new proposed changes reduce that number to 60 people and jobs combined per hectare in Hamilton, the regions of Peel, Waterloo and York.

This decrease in density targets is unexplainable, as the Greater Golden Horseshoe will benefit greatly from high density housing. Critics warn that the new changes and low density housing will lead to car-dependent neighbourhoods. This is extremely unacceptable as it will undermine public transit efforts, increase traffic and congestion, and overall lead to unsustainable practices which will harm the environment directly.

Section 3.2.1.2 is amended by adding ",environmental planning”, by deleting “infrastructure master plans, asset management plans, community energy plans, watershed planning, environmental assessments, and other”. Deleting these specific terms, is undermining the meaning and importance, of aspects which come into play when planning.

As a province, I feel that we should invest in 20 minute neighbourhoods. These neighbourhoods are compact communities where people can walk, bike or take public transit to reach important destinations (e.g schools, grocery stores, etc) in 20 minutes or less. Not only will this benefit citizens and the environment, but it will benefit the economy as well. I hope you take my ideas into consideration, and I thank your for you time!