Toronto — The lands protected by the Ontario government's proposed greenbelt need to be expanded if the initiative is to be successful in curbing urban sprawl and protecting natural heritage areas, prime farmland and source water lands from development.
That is the key conclusion of the Pembina Institute's submission, released today, on the province's proposed Greater Golden Horseshoe greenbelt plan. The proposed plan is expected to be finalized over the next two months.
"The Pembina Institute believes that the greenbelt initiative is an important component of the government's overall efforts to reform Ontario's land-use planning system and curb urban sprawl, protect key natural heritage, prime agricultural and source water lands, and promote more sustainable urban development patterns" said Dr. Mark Winfield, Director of the Pembina Institute's environmental governance program and author of its submission on the plan.
"However, the government's proposal leaves a large amount of land available for development. It includes the area between the greenbelt and existing designated urban settlement area boundaries (approximately 70,000 hectares), and just beyond the outer boundary of the greenbelt. The situation risks undermining the goals of the plan" added Dr. Winfield.
Research by the Neptis Foundation, acknowledged in the province's own proposed growth management plan for the region (Places to Grow), has revealed that there is already sufficient undeveloped land zoned for urbanization within designated settlement areas to accommodate projected population growth for the next 20 to 30 years. These lands are unaffected by the greenbelt initiative.
The Pembina Institute concludes in its submission that there is therefore no need to leave additional large areas of land available for development within the region's communtershed. By leaving these areas, the draft plan actually invites urban sprawl.
The Pembina Institute recommends expansion of the greenbelt to include the areas south of the Oak Ridges Moraine, southeast of the Niagara Escarpment and south of Hamilton, as well as the southern part of Simcoe County. These areas are outlined in the following map prepared by Ontario Nature.
In its submission, the Pembina Institute also recommends that the proposed plan be strengthened in a number of other ways. The suggested improvements include
- strengthening the source water protection provisions of the plan to require the protection of wellhead areas and aquifers that are susceptible to contamination
- requiring that the establishment of new transportation corridors (i.e., highways) through or across the greenbelt be the option of last resort, considered only after maximizing the use of all existing modal corridors, and conducting an independent review of future goods transportation needs in the region
- prohibiting development on key natural heritage and hydrologic features and prime agricultural areas throughout the greenbelt, and prohibiting the removal of such areas from the greenbelt to accommodate future development
- excluding mineral aggregate operations for all key natural heritage and hydrologic features of the greenbelt.
- clarifying the plan's policies regarding low-impact renewable energy sources (e.g., wind farms) within the greenbelt
- strengthening the role of the proposed greenbelt advisory council in the ten-year review of the plan, and in the assessment of the need for amendments to the plan before the ten-year review. The council should also be mandated to provide annual reports on the implementation and effectiveness of the greenbelt plan.
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For more information contact:
Mark S. Winfield, Ph.D., Director, Environmental Governance. The Pembina Institute