[All] Region of Waterloo Staff Report on ROP Growth Scenarios

[Kevin Thomason]

Hello GREN members,

Attached below please find a PDF of the Region of Waterloo Staff Report on the Preferred Scenario for the Regional Official Plan Update that was just released this afternoon.

As anticipated, it is very disappointing to see Staff recommending Scenario #2 - an unambitious level of long-term intensification of 60% and 60 people and jobs per hectare for the next 30 years that:

	- is below the rate that we are already currently achieving,

	- will require over 1,000 hectares of our local farmland to be destroyed and developed for sprawling subdivisions and low density employment lands,

	- uses up most of our remaining land reserves threatening the Countryside Line in many ways,

	- may be so low that future phases of iON Light Rail Transit could be difficult to support,

	- ends our historic SmartGrowth leadership in Ontario with numerous other municipalities choosing more ambitious future goals,

	- seems out of synch with Canadian's demands that our governments to undertake bold actions to address our climate crisis.


Staff will be presenting the Report and their recommendation to Council on the afternoon of Tuesday, November 9th.  Hopefully, there will be a variety of delegations who will send a strong message to Council that these unambitious targets are not good enough and that we need to do better.  

I have not been able to learn the revised timeline for when Council will be expected to make a final decision on this Preferred Scenario that will then lock us into this growth plan for 30 years until 2051.  Hopefully there will be adequate time for vigorous community consultation and engagement on how we want to grow and our visions for the future.  So much of our future success as a community is going to be determined by these pending decisions for the Regional Official Plan that is permanent and unappeallable at the OMB/LPAT or any provincial court once approved by Council.

Hopefully our citizens and community groups will be able raise awareness, share information, help to educate our community, and do all that we can to ensure the best possible outcomes.  This could include webinars, informational materials, delegations to Council, meetings with Councillors/Staff, working with the media, letters and e-mails to elected officials along with other activities.

Please share any questions, ideas, and ways you might be able to help as we may not have much time before final decisions are to be made.

Sincerely,
Kevin.

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Region of Waterloo Staff Report on the Preferred Scenario for the Regional Official Plan Update:




Additional Information on the Regional Official Plan Update being required by the Province by July 2022:

https://www.engagewr.ca/regional-official-plan <https://www.engagewr.ca/regional-official-plan>


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Kevin Thomason

1115 Cedar Grove Road
Waterloo, Ontario Canada  N2J 3Z4

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

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