Two-Year Freeze on Development Boundaries Proposed
Posted: August 24, 2016
Categories: GoodFoodBites / News from Sustain Ontario
Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation recommends a freeze on development boundaries of regional municipalities for two years in its report released last week, Plan to Achieve: A Review of the Land Needs Assessment Process and the Implementation of the Growth Plan.
The report comes in response to current review of the 2006 Places to Grow: Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe (Growth Plan), a plan to address the effects associated with more than 40 years of development focused on creating low-density single-use suburban developments in the Greater Golden Horseshoe (GGH). The Growth Plan along with 3 other land use plans are part of the Ministry of Municipal Affairs’ Coordinated 4-Plan Land Use Review which resulted in proposed changes currently under review until October 31, 2016.
The Growth Plan emphasizes the importance of Land Needs Assessment (LNA) processes in preventing the over-designation of land for development. In its report, Friends of the Greenbelt asserts that the current LNA process is flawed and has led to over-designation of land.
Specific flaws in the LNA process identified in the report include:
- Use of an outdated methodology
- Excessive take-outs related to the designated greenfield area (DGA) density targets
- Extended planning horizons and questionable population forecast
The report recommends a two-year freeze on development boundaries to allow for updated population growth estimates from the 2016 census before building on new lands. Further, it asserts that the current review process offers an opportunity to simplify and clarify the LNA process and to make it more transparent for the public.
In addition to the freeze on boundaries, the report recommends:
- Development of a standardized, simplified Land Needs Assessment (LNA) process
- Not allowing appeals of LNA calculations to the Ontario Municipalities Board
- Clarification that ‘will be planned to achieve’ means that density targets are intended to be achieved within the planning period
A new approach to LNA needed to protect our farmland!
The Greenbelt report concluded that without a new approach to LNA, municipalities in the Greater Golden Horseshoe will continue to over-designate land which could mean the potential loss of farmland.
The Farmland and Agriculture Network of Sustain Ontario which includes members and other stakeholders is working on a collaborative response to the proposed changes to the land use plans. Its submission will be made to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and released on the Sustain Ontario website the coming weeks. Stay tuned!