I am incredibly alarmed,…

I am incredibly alarmed, disappointed, and upset about bill 23 because:

•affordable housing needs to be built in urban areas near jobs and public transit, not in green belt areas

•the housing that will be built in the green belt land will not be affordable housing

•building on green belt land will cause a number of negative environmental consequences including: increased pollution due to the increased number of people with long drive commutes to work; destruction of quality farm soil; destruction of green belt habitat and ecosystem

•it isn’t clear why the specific parcels of green belt land have been chosen to be removed nor is it clear why specific parcels of land were chosen to be added to the green belt

•the assertion that a plot of greenbelt land can be traded for a plot of land in a different location and that this trade will be of equal or better value demonstrates either a severe lack of ecological understanding or a bold willingness to ignore or misconstrue facts.

•the removal/lessening of developer fees will municipalities without the funds needed to build the infrastructure and to create and provide the services needed by the citizens living in these new homes

•the government commissioned a report that stated there is already sufficient land available to meet the housing targets; no additional land, including greenbelt land, is needed

•the reduction in developer fees will not lead to an increase in affordable housing

•the lack of public consultation and input by conservation authorities is quite troubling and problematic

LEAVE THE GREENBELT ALONE.

You don’t need its acres to meet your housing targets. Get on with building affordable housing in the areas it makes the most sense to, places where it makes sense not to your developer friends, but to the people who will be living in affordable housing.

Thank you