Fusion Homes is pleased to…

Fusion Homes is pleased to provide this letter in response to the Government’s proposal to
grow the Greenbelt. As a home builder operating in Southwestern Ontario, Fusion Homes is
a significant stakeholder in terms of land use planning, environmental protection, and
economic and population growth. As such, we believe it is important that we provide our
comments and concerns surrounding the proposal.

The portion of the proposal Fusion Homes is most concerned with is the study area of
lands focused on the Paris Galt Moraine. This study area spans a large mass of land that
abuts the City of Cambridge, City of Guelph, and goes through the Township of Puslinch.
These Municipalities are working to update their Official Plans to conform to the new
Growth Plan (2019) and Amendment 1 (2020), and Provincial Policy Statement (2020) by
July 1, 2022, in accordance with Provincial requirements. The expansion of the Greenbelt to
include the Paris Galt Moraine would limit the ability for municipalities to grow. This will
create a number of negative impacts including housing affordability, ever-increasing
property taxes, housing choice, and will force municipalities to stagnate, counter to
provincial goals. This should be considered during discussions around expanding the
Greenbelt so close to these existing urban areas.

The purpose of expanding the Greenbelt should also be examined. The Paris Galt Moraine
is represented in Official Plan Land Use Maps as Natural Heritage System and as a result,
already restricts development and has high standards of protection and monitoring in
place. Expanding the Greenbelt does not appear to provide additional protection than
what currently exists within Official Plans. A science-based approach should be used to
determine the benefit of expanding the Greenbelt to include the Paris Galt Moraine. The
Province should consider the existing protections in place and evaluate whether including
it in the Greenbelt provides any additional benefit.

To conclude, Fusion Homes encourages the Provincial government to consider Municipal
plans to accommodate growth to conform to the Growth Plan targets to 2051 and beyond.
Specifically, any expansion of the Greenbelt should not be finalized until area Municipalities
have completed their ongoing Official Plan updates. The Greenbelt expansion can thereby
be subject to the findings of their land needs analyses. The province should also evaluate
whether the Paris Galt Moraine is already adequately protected through existing Official
Plan and GRCA policies.

Fusion Homes thanks you for providing the opportunity to participate and have our
comments considered. If you have any questions or would like to discuss further, please do
not hesitate to reach out.

Sincerely,

Ben Jones
Fusion Homes
Land Acquisition & Development Manager