[All] Region ctte meets Tues (Fwd: Greenbelt Planning)

[Kevin Thomason]

Hi Eleanor,

Indeed, it has been very impressive to see Elizabeth Clarke reaching out and following up with community members who have talked to her about Greenbelt expansion.  I continue to be impressed by Councillor Clarke as she gets increasingly settled into her role of Regional Councillor.

The Waterloo Regional Staff Report on Greenbelt Expansion and the Growth Plan Amendments seems to be a well written and detailed report outlining the issues that Staff feel need to be addressed during the ongoing provincial review and also prior to any sort of Greenbelt expansion to Waterloo Region.  The primary concerns of Staff seem to focus around how realistic the provincial government's numbers and targets are in the Growth Plan Amendments and ensuring that our local environmental protections aren't compromised or weakened by Greenbelt expansion.

Most of the issues they raise seem valid and warrant discussion with the province though a couple of the scenarios they have contemplated seem highly unlikely to ever occur.  It is good to see Waterloo Region Staff reiterating their support for the objectives of these provincial plans and referring previous Regional requests for Greenbelt inclusion.  

Rather than pushing for Waterloo Region to seek Greenbelt expansion at this time (forcing a vote at Council and perhaps losing if Councillors feel there are still issues that Staff need to address) I think that it makes sense to defer any immediate decision on Greenbelt expansion and spend the coming months working with the province to resolve any issues, seek clarity, and further engage the public.

Hopefully, we will soon reach a point where there will be broad agreement that Greenbelt expansion to Waterloo Region is the best path forward - providing an important second layer of protection for our ROP concepts and greenspace.

Myself and others plan to attend the Planning and Works Meeting this Tuesday at 12:30pm when this report is to be tabled to urge the Region to keep working with the province to ensure the best possible future.  Hopefully, you can attend too.

Cheers,
Kevin.

-------------------------------------

Kevin Thomason

1115 Cedar Grove Road
Waterloo, Ontario Canada  N2J 3Z4

Phone: (519) 888-0519
Mobile Phone: (519) 240-1648
Twitter: @kthomason
E-mail: kevinthomason at mac.com

-----------------------------------------

On Oct 1, 2016, at 11:33 PM, Eleanor Grant <eleanor7000 at gmail.com> wrote:

> Greenbelt will be on agenda of Planning & Works committee at Region of Waterloo Tues Oct 3 at 12:30.
> 
> Thanks to Councillor Eliz Clarke for info below.
> 
> Eleanor
> 
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: "Elizabeth Clarke" <ElClarke at regionofwaterloo.ca>
> Date: 1 Oct 2016 21:52
> Subject: Greenbelt Planning
> To: "eleanor7000 at gmail.com" <eleanor7000 at gmail.com>
> Cc: 
> 
> Hi, Eleanor.
> 
>  
> 
> We corresponded back in the summer about the province's greenbelt expansion and the Region of Waterloo's possible role in that‎. I thought you might want to know that the staff report and recommendations are on the agenda for this Tuesday's committee meeting, scheduled to start at 12:30.
> 
>  
> 
> I've attached the agenda for the meeting. The ‎report begins on page 99.
> 
>  
> 
> Elizabeth
> 
> 
> <PA2016-1004.1.pdf>_______________________________________________
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> All at gren.ca
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