Background Needs Assessment?…

Background Needs Assessment?

Thank you for the opportunity to comment on this important planning policy quest. To be able to reasonably respond to the questions asked in this ERO public engagement exercise, I would like to have additional background information as to what the problem is to what we attempting to solve. Buzzwords like 'red tape reduction', i.e., streamlining does not provide adequate background to what is wrong with the existing policy planning framework we have in place.

To intelligently comment, I would like to understand how many housing units are potentially available within the Greater Golden Horseshoe, and then in the rest of Ontario with our existing planning policy framework. How close or far away are we in providing a unit supply via planning policy in achieving the Province's stated goal of building 1.5 million units within the next decade? From my understanding of things, municipalities already have a 10 year supply of available lots/units in planning permissions given as per provisions of the PPS. What is the gap in supply that we are trying to address?

In recent weeks, the Province has provided background information that 50,000 units can be provided on the lands that were taken from the Provincial Greenbelt. (see attachment url). Where is the documentation that purports this assertion? In addition, there must be other 'policy need to streamline' documentation that can better inform what we are attempting to do with our current provincial planning policy framework.

The public engagement proposition contained within this ERO posting is incomplete. It is premature and contrary to the public interest to be discussing planning policy without adequate background data and full background information.