Toronto: The lands protected by the Ontario government's proposed greenbelt must 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 on the province's greenbelt legislation (Bill 135, Greenbelt Protection Act), presented today to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.
"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 and areas just beyond the outer boundary of the greenbelt. This risks undermining the goals of the plan," Dr. Winfield added.
The Pembina Institute concludes in its submission that there is no need to leave additional large areas of land available for development within the region's commutershed. In fact, by leaving such areas available, the draft plan actually invites urban sprawl.
The Pembina Institute recommends expanding 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.
In its submission, the Pembina Institute also recommends that the proposed legislation be strengthened in a number of other ways. The suggested improvements include
- requiring that provincial as well as municipal decisions and undertakings conform with the greenbelt plan.
- requiring that municipalities bring their official plans into conformity with the plan within one year of its adoption, as per the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Act.
- prohibiting aggregate development from key natural heritage areas of the greenbelt.
- mandating the proposed greenbelt advisory council to provide annual reports on the implementation and effectiveness of the greenbelt plan.
The Pembina Institute's submission is available here.
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For more information contact:
Mark S. Winfield, PhD, Pembina Institute. Director, Environmental Governance
Tel: 416-978-5656
Cell: 416-434-8130
Fax: 416-978-3884
E-mail: markw@pembina.org