Comments Provided by City of…

Comments Provided by City of Waterloo Staff

Use of MZO’s:
City staff believe that MZO’s should be used in exceptional circumstances. Examples may include where construction of a project by a particular date is key to secure government funding, or where a municipality identifies that it does not have capacity to secure approvals in a timely manner.

City staff fundamentally believes that local decision making and public engagement is fundamental to the planning process. Involving the public, and allowing for public discourse on development projects maintains public trust in government at all levels. In Waterloo, the public in increasingly interested and engaged on the merits and even technical aspects of developments. Local surveys have shown a high satisfaction in City services, and a general appreciation for engagement opportunities. We wish to continue this trend.

The local development community has helped to build a thriving community in the area, while following the planning process. While there may be instances when approvals don’t occur as quickly as possible, review and approval delays can lead to better outcomes for all.

Site Plan Review:
Local staff have detailed knowledge and expertise to undertake the technical review of site plans. City staff believe that numerous technical matters are at risk of being misunderstood or missed if completed outside of the municipality. City staff believe the Province would need to undertake significant hiring of qualified staff in order to fulfill this new area of responsibility. Finally, it isn’t clear that any time savings outweigh the costs incurred by the Province or risks of error by Provincial staff.

Site Plan Review - Recommendation:
(1) Repeal the minister’s site plan approval power, to avoid duplication of services, minimize risk and avoid costs of hiring new staff.
(2) If retained, only use this authority when a municipality specifically asks for it.

Inclusionary Zoning:
City staff are supportive of allowing Inclusionary Zoning to be implemented via a MZO, in rare circumstances. Note that Council recently passed a motion to ask the Province to enable Inclusionary Zoning to apply City-wide (Joel, is that true? I recall Councillor Hanmer spearheading it, but can’t recall if it was brought forward), given the scale of need in Waterloo. City staff believe this request should be enabled.

Inclusionary Zoning – Recommendation:
(3) Permit Inclusionary Zoning to be implemented via a MZO, in the rare circumstances that MZOs are used in Ontario.
(4) To enable municipalities to respond to increasing needs for affordable housing, permit Inclusionary Zoning to apply City-Wide via a Council resolution.