It's my belief that one of…

It's my belief that one of the most impactful and well-received changes that could be made with the update to the PPS would be the blanket inclusion of "Conservation Severances" in Ontario.

The basis of these severances is simple; in cases where a property is intended to be severed such that a portion of it can be put into conservation land (whether sold or donated to a Park, Conservation Authority, or Land Trust), then the parameters surrounding minimum building lots and environmental assessments should be waived. Note that this should only be in cases where the entity applying for the severance - or that is the certified and agreed-upon recipient of the property post-severance - is a qualified land conservation organization, like the aforementioned Park, CA, or Land Trust.

Peel Region has already implemented a system like this; the wording from their Official Plan is below:

"7.4.9 Lot Creation and Lot Adjustments:
7.4.9.5 Support consents to enable the securement of lands for natural heritage conservation purposes by a public authority or by a non-government conservation organization, provided that:
a) the consent will avoid fragmentation of the Greenlands System's natural heritage features and areas, where possible;
b) in the Prime Agricultural Area, the consent will not create a lot permitting an additional residential dwelling or other additional non-farm development beyond that which was permitted on the original lot to be severed prior to the consent;
c) the acquired and retained lots are in compliance with the local municipal official plan and zoning by-law; and
d) when deemed necessary, a restrictive covenant or conservation easement is placed on title of the land to be held for conservation purposes prohibiting development of the land for non-conservation uses in perpetuity.

7.4.9.6 Encourage the local municipalities to include appropriate lot standards and provisions in their official plans and zoning by-laws to recognize and permit non-complying lots to be created as a result of an acquisition of land by a public authority or a non-government conservation organization for natural heritage conservation purposes."

Additionally, the Kawartha Land Trust has been working to have a similar system implemented with a local municipality. Their proposed wording is:

"Notwithstanding any other policy of this Plan to the contrary, the creation of new lots or the assembly of land through lot additions for conservation purposes by a recognized non-profit organization may be permitted within the boundaries of key natural heritage features and key hydrologic features without the need for a Natural Heritage Evaluation. This exception recognizes the intent to protect the feature and its functions for the long term. Lots created for such purpose will be placed in a separate zoning category, recognizing the lands for a conservation use. For clarity, the zoning may permit passive recreational uses, as well as buildings and structures outside of key features and vegetation protection zones provided they are used for conservation education purposes."

The main advantage to a policy of this nature is that it would make conservation work much easier to accomplish. As a Land Trust employee myself, I can attest that there are several projects where somebody has a large property with developed and undeveloped sites whereby they wish to sever and conserve the undeveloped site, but because of severance restrictions are unable to. Across the Province, a lot of potential conservation land is lost because of this detail of the bureaucratic process. At a time when conservation land is of upmost importance in combatting the twin crises of Biodiversity Loss and Climate Change, every advantage that can be given to the people and organizations working to conserve natural spaces must be considered, as their work benefits all the people of Ontario. Conservation Severances would be an elegant and streamlined solution to this problem.

Thank you for your time in reading and considering this comment.