Concerning 013-4504 under…

Concerning 013-4504 under the Places to Grow Act, I oppose deletion of provisions added to the regulation on June 28, 2017 that support implementation of a phased-in designated greenfield area density target.
I also oppose deleting the lands needs assessment provisions added to the regulation on May 4, 2018 that supports a standard method to calculate the land needed for development to the horizon of the Growth Plan.
Likewise, I am opposed to adoption of to “the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe, 2017 Amendment 1.
Using a Municipal Comprehensive Review (MCR) process to guide regional planning through an evidence-based framework encourages efficient land use. This provincial and regional guidance is important for smaller municipalities with few resources to enable them to move toward a consistent, public interest-based approach to growth management.
The MCR process has ensured a sufficient supply of undeveloped greenfield land for housing and employment needs as well as a land supply within urban areas to meet intensification targets. Proposed reductions to the designated greenfield targets (DGA) allow municipalities to ask for low targets and this will be contrary to the goal of creating complete, compact communities. Gentle density and hard boundaries move us away from the historically dominant, wasteful, low-density development model.
Low density development increases servicing costs, and so places a burden on tax-payers extending indefinitely into the future. This is inhibitory to future economic growth. Likewise the low density development encouraged by the proposed changes increases greenhouse gas emissions through extra transport activity, thus making it more difficult for Ontario to meet its greenhouse gas emissions commitments.