Ontario reveals new regional growth targets, adviser appointments in changes to cancelled 2005 Growth Plan
Bill 66 has a new sprawl partner as Ontario Growth Plan cancelled
Globe and Mail January 15, 2019
"Ontario government plans to loosen the density targets in its Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe in the name of building more housing more quickly, but critics warn the move simply gives a green light to new suburban sprawl.
The proposals, announced on Tuesday, would scale back complex rules that force municipalities in the region to plan for denser, more compact communities that are easier to serve with public transit – rules that had just been tightened in 2017 by the previous Liberal government. The new proposals would also make it easier for municipalities to designate new greenfield land for development.
The Growth Plan, introduced by the Liberal government of Dalton McGuinty in 2005, was brought in alongside the 7,200-square-kilometre protected Greenbelt of farmland and woodland that stretches around Toronto from Niagara to Peterborough.
“Basically, it is going back to the sprawl model,” The current density target mandates that new development on greenfield sites must encompass 80 people or jobs per hectare, a level that provincial planners say can sustain bus service that comes every 10 to 15 minutes.
Under the new proposed rules, Hamilton, Peel, Waterloo and York Region will only have to plan for 60 people and jobs per hectare.
The proposed changes also rewrite the Growth Plan’s introduction, deleting the phrase “urban sprawl” in favour of “unmanaged growth,” as well as substituting a “cleaner environment” for a “clean and healthy environment” and taking out a reference to “social equity.” The rewritten sections also stress the need for housing supply that “reflects market demand.”
Bill 66 has a new sprawl partner as Ontario Growth Plan cancelled
Globe and Mail January 15, 2019
"Ontario government plans to loosen the density targets in its Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe in the name of building more housing more quickly, but critics warn the move simply gives a green light to new suburban sprawl.
The proposals, announced on Tuesday, would scale back complex rules that force municipalities in the region to plan for denser, more compact communities that are easier to serve with public transit – rules that had just been tightened in 2017 by the previous Liberal government. The new proposals would also make it easier for municipalities to designate new greenfield land for development.
The Growth Plan, introduced by the Liberal government of Dalton McGuinty in 2005, was brought in alongside the 7,200-square-kilometre protected Greenbelt of farmland and woodland that stretches around Toronto from Niagara to Peterborough.
“Basically, it is going back to the sprawl model,” The current density target mandates that new development on greenfield sites must encompass 80 people or jobs per hectare, a level that provincial planners say can sustain bus service that comes every 10 to 15 minutes.
Under the new proposed rules, Hamilton, Peel, Waterloo and York Region will only have to plan for 60 people and jobs per hectare.
The proposed changes also rewrite the Growth Plan’s introduction, deleting the phrase “urban sprawl” in favour of “unmanaged growth,” as well as substituting a “cleaner environment” for a “clean and healthy environment” and taking out a reference to “social equity.” The rewritten sections also stress the need for housing supply that “reflects market demand.”