Proposed Amendments to the…

Proposed Amendments to the Greenbelt Plan

I am commenting to state my opposition to the proposal to remove 7,400 acres of land from the Greenbelt. I support the Greenbelt wetlands, farmlands and wooded areas. Destruction of pieces of Greenbelt land scattered all over is completely unacceptable. Stop now!

Keep your hands off the Greenbelt. It is not necessay to go through with this swiss cheese approach to making changes to the Greenbelt in the false justification of building housing.

The proposed removal lands will not create affordable housing for the people who need low income housing, new immigrants and those trying to get off the streets. The location of these lands are in undesirable locations for those looking for affordable housing. They need public transit nearby not the automobile for slow commutes.

The proposal will create undesirable urban sprawl. Urban sprawl has so many detrimental consequences which are well known to policy makers in most progressive government departments.

This proposal ignores the comments made by the government's own task force. The Report of the Ontario Housing Affordability Task Force (pg. 10) says: "But a shortage of land isn’t the cause of the problem. Land is available, both inside the existing built-up areas and on undeveloped land outside greenbelts.

We need to make better use of land. Zoning defines what we can build and where we can build. If we want to make better use of land to create more housing, then we need to modernize our zoning rules. We heard from planners, municipal councillors, and developers that “as of right” zoning – the ability to by-pass long, drawn out consultations
and zoning by-law amendments – is the most effective tool in the provincial toolkit. We agree." https://files.ontario.ca/mmah-housing-affordability-task-force-report-e…

Further this proposal fails to head the advice of the task force. In the Report of the Ontario Housing Affordability Task Force, on page 10 it says: "One result is that more growth is pushing past urban boundaries and turning farmland into housing. Undeveloped land inside and outside existing municipal boundaries must be part of the solution, particularly in northern and rural communities, but isn’t nearly enough on its own. Most of the solution must come from densification. Greenbelts and other environmentally sensitive areas must be protected, and farms provide food and food security. Relying too heavily on undeveloped land would whittle away too much of the already small share of land devoted to agriculture.

Modernizing zoning would also open the door to more rental housing, which in turn would make communities more inclusive.

Allowing more gentle density also makes better use of roads, water and wastewater systems, transit and other public services that are already in place and have capacity, instead of having to be built in new areas. " https://files.ontario.ca/mmah-housing-affordability-task-force-report-e…

We must protect contiguous Greenbelt lands for the ecosystem protected by Greenbelt Act now and into the future.

We can't remove lands adjacent to contaminated lands because the lands adjacent are already contaminated. Two wrongs don't make a right. The "destruction of critical natural areas in a time of climate crisis while also failing to deliver the urban transformation or the affordable housing that Ontario needs, is unacceptable. Do better and leave the Greenbelt whole!

Once Greenbelt lands are gone, they are gone forever! This proposal must not proceed. Look at the Report of the Ontario Housing Affordability Task Force for recommendations on how to move forward with affordable housing, not homes that will sell for for more than $500,000.