Federation of Urban Neighbourhoods
Communities Count. Civic Matters.
Ontario is planning Highway 413, a redundant and unnecessary toll highway that would pave over farm, forests, wetlands and a portion of the Greenbelt and cost taxpayers billions.
Right now Highway 407 (another toll highway) is underused. Yet the province is proposing to build another east-west toll highway just 15 km away.
Thank you for the opportunity to comment on ERO 019-1680, the proposed changes to the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe (“Growth Plan”) and ERO 019-1679, the Lands Needs Assessment Methodology (“methodology”).
The Growth Plan is a unique land-use planning framework that proposes to balance urban growth with protection of the natural environment and farmland within the Greater Golden Horseshoe (GGH)…
According to the Growth Plan, these “valuable assets must be wisely protected and managed as part of planning for future growth.”
We, the 63 undersigned organizations, believe both proposals, if implemented, would cause significant adverse effects on the GGH.
The key message I bring today is that events of this year, since COVID 19, continue to demand the critical role of residents associations at the local level, and federations of residents associations, especially at the provincial level, to address policy issues. The mantra “municipalities are a creature of the province” is not only the law but is being actively practiced by the elected government.
What are these issues we are dealing with? Here are examples:
The Federation of Urban Neighbourhoods responded to the request for comments on the proposed changes to the Provincial Policy Statement (PPS) in the fall of 2019. Almost 500 responses were received and a summary of the comments and results of the consultant on the decision are available at the Environmental Registry of Ontario.
According to the government, the “proposed changes address implementation challenges with the Plan that were identified by the municipal and development sectors and other stakeholders” and “are intended to provide greater flexibility and address barriers to building homes, creating jobs, attracting investments and putting in place the right infrastructure while protecting the environment.” We note for the record that FoNTRA, as one of the most significant stakeholder organization in the Province representing the interests of residents, had not been consulted.
The Province, through Bill 108, More Homes, More Choice Act, 2019, introduced sweeping changes across 13 statutes, including the Planning Act and the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal Act, 2017, with the stated intention of cutting red tape, reducing costs, and increasing the supply of housing in Ontario. Although Bill 108 was passed on June 6, 2019, the vast majority of the amendments are presently not yet in effect.
On September 3, 2019, the Province proclaimed into force key amendments to the Planning Act and the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal Act, 2017 that in essence return the development process and the planning appeals regime back to where they were before the reforms introduced by the previous Government. These changes include:
The Provincial Policy Statement (PPS) is a consolidated statement of the government’s policies on land use planning. It applies province-wide and provides provincial policy direction on key land use planning issues that affect communities. The government held a 90 day consultation period which closed October 21 2019, during which they sought feedback on proposed changes to the Provincial Policy Statement. The Federation of Urban Neighbourhoods submitted comments as follows:
Saturday, May 25, 2019, 2 to 4 p.m.
Kensington Apartments
21 Dale Avenue
6th Floor Board Room
Toronto, Ontario M4W 1K3
AGENDA
Welcome
Approval of Minutes of AGM held October 27, 2018
President’s Report Treasurer’s Report Budget for 2019/2020
Ratification of Decisions taken by Executive Committee since last AGM
Appointment of an auditor for 2019
Confirmation of Membership Dues
Election of Officers and Executive Committee for 2019/2020
The Ford government is closing a provincial agency that gives legal assistance to residents battling development changes in their local municipality.
The Local Planning Appeal Support Centre was created just last year as part of the Wynne government’s reforms to the former Ontario Municipal Board (OMB), a body long criticized for favouring developers in its decisions about zoning.
The Greater Golden Horseshoe (GGH), Canada’s largest urban region, will undergo a profound change as it grows to accommodate an anticipated 4.4 million new residents by 2041, making it home to nearly 13.5 million people.
The decisions we make about how to accommodate this growth will determine what types of communities we live in, how much time we spend stuck in traffic, the quality of the air we breathe and whether our farmland and forests continue to provide us with food and habitat for our unique wildlife. There’s no question that new housing will be needed. The question is what form it will take.