ERO 019-6216 Proposed…

ERO 019-6216 Proposed Amendment to Greenbelt Plan

1. The Government Housing Affordable Task Force found that there was plenty of places to build homes without removing land from the Greenbelt. There is sufficient space within existing municipal urban boundaries to accommodate 1,500,000 proposed housing units.

2. The proposed removal of 7400 acres of land from the Greenbelt to build 50,000 new homes means a density of approximately 7 homes per acre which is low density mainly single family homes increasing urban sprawl. Bill 23 contains many measures to increase housing density and requires municipalities to increase density more than single family housing such as allowing for multiple units ( up to 3) etc. Therefore removing land from the Greenbelt for low density housing does not achieve the main focus of Bill 23.

3. Doug Ford agreed in 2018 not to remove land from the Greenbelt. Doug Ford did not campaign in 2022 on the issue of removing land from the Greenbelt. This is not what we voted for in the last election.

4. Bill 23 will eliminate or reduce Development Charges on new development projects. Development charges are collected by the municipalities to pay for growth related infrastructure required for new housing such as increasing road and transit capacity, additional water supply and sewage disposal capacity etc. The municipalities will need to fund the loss of development charges by raising the municipal taxes. A stated major focus of Bill 23 is to reduce the cost of new housing. There is nothing in Bill 23 that requires developers to pass on any saving to new home buyers from reduced development charges. Therefore developers can still sell new housing at current market prices and increase their profits.

5. Removing lands from the Greenbelt sets a bad precedent. Other developers/land owners will be encouraged to come forward and request that their property also be removed from the Greenbelt to be utilized for housing and/or commercial/industrial uses. Removing land from the Greenbelt will also encourage land speculation in the Greenbelt area for the potential future removal of additional lands from the Greenbelt by the Province.