[All] GREN Update - ROP Land Needs Analysis, Woolwich Motion, Hallman Pit

Sun Apr 10 23:02:07 EDT 2022

Hi Lori and GREN,

Indeed, Lori, the current housing affordability crisis is too often confused with our need to address urban sprawl, expand the Greenbelt, built more complete/sustainable communities, and other issues.  It is going to be up to all of us over the months ahead - particularly during the provincial and municipal elections to speak up and ensure people better understand the both the best solutions for intensification to solve the housing crisis and the environmental efforts needed to address our climate crisis.

Some reminders for the week ahead:

1) Monday, April 11th 7:00pm - Wilmot Township Council Meeting - the meeting to decide the zone change required for the Hallman Pit continues with 29 remaining delegations and Council deliberations.  The Citizens for Safe Ground Water have done a fabulous job fighting this application for 3 years.  Please let Wilmot Councillors know that the community doesn’t want another gravel pit using their easy 1 click tool at: 

	https://www.safeh2o.ca/email-wilmot-councillors <https://www.safeh2o.ca/email-wilmot-councillors>

Watch the delegations and deliberations at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcA8fcRx03H8zYkFLIQMjow

2) Tuesday, April 12th 9:00am Regional Planning and Works Meeting - the Land Needs Analysis for the Regional Official Plan Review has been released this past Friday and will be presented by Staff to Councillors as “for information only”.  Three different Residential Lands Options are presented as options:

	a) Residential Lands Option One - Provincial Minimums Using Doug Ford’s LNA formulas - results in only 50% intensification and only 50 people/jobs per hectare requiring a staggering 2,208ha of new greenfield expansion far surpassing available lands and breaching the Countryside Line in numerous places.

	b) Residential Lands Option Two - Moderate Greenfield Expansion - 60% intensification and 60 people/jobs per hectare requiring 376ha of new greenfield expansion.

	c) Residential Lands Option Three - No Urban Boundary Expansion - 60% intensification and 66 people/jobs per hectare requiring 0ha of new greenfield expansion and no farmland loss.

Of course Option #3 - staying within our urban boundaries with no farmland loss similar to what Hamilton and Halton Councillors have just voted for would be the best option and what we need to be striving to convince our Council to choose in the weeks ahead.

There were also two Employment Lands Options presented:

	a) Employment Lands Option One - 15% Intensification with 35 jobs per hectare requiring 659ha of new greenfield expansion

	b) Employment Lands Option Two - 25% intensification with 35 jobs per hectare requiring 456ha of new greenfield expansion

Again, the best alternative is the final one requiring the least amount of farmland and natural area destruction.

Over the days ahead the Region will be announcing their plans for public engagement and consultation.  While I am hoping that we aren’t going to have to go the lengths of creating a new StopSprawl group here like StopSprawl Hamilton, StopSprawl Halton, StopSprawl Peel, StopSprawl Durham, and many other new groups that have been created with thousands of citizens protesting, delegating, fundraising, and launching all-out campaigns to influence their Official Plans and prevent boundary expansions, we are still going to have to work hard to send a clear, strong message to Waterloo Regional Council in the weeks ahead.

Attached below is the Regional Staff LNA Report that will be presented on Tuesday along with the external consultant LNA report.  The first two virtual consultations will be April 22nd at 11am and April 27th at 7pm.  Learn more at: https://www.engagewr.ca/regional-official-plan

3) Paris Galt Moraine Greenbelt Expansion Feedback - a reminder that we have until April 23rd to provide feedback and comments to the provincial government on their plan to cancel Greenbelt expansion plans for the Paris-Galt Moraine and instead pursue a tiny expansion of some already protected creeks in the GTA through Urban River Valley’s (URV’s).  We can join with the very disappointed folks in Guelph, Wellington, and Brantford by simply submitting a photo of your favourite natural area needing Greenbelt protection with the caption “This Place Matters”.

Learn more and submit your comments/photos at:  Environmental Registry of Ontario - https://ero.ontario.ca/notice/019-4485 <https://ero.ontario.ca/notice/019-4485>

Please share any questions or ideas.

Cheers,
Kevin.

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1) Region of Waterloo Planning & Works Committee Agenda - Tuesday, April 12, 2022 

2) Dillon and Watson Land Needs Analysis Report

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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

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On Apr 10, 2022, at 9:13 AM, <strothjkl at sympatico.ca> <strothjkl at sympatico.ca> wrote:

There will be new challenges with preventing sprawl with politicians now seeing ‘building new housing’ as a questionable way to help with the high cost of owning or renting a place to live - the way I see it, just because one encourages new housing starts, it doesn’t mean the developers will want to charge any less than market value for those dwellings, and even if there are incentives to charge less, they would probably still be quite expensive and out of reach of most.  They seem to be confusing the high cost of living with a lack of units available – 2 different things. Building more units isn’t addressing the issue or clamping down on why prices keep rising on the existing housing stock…things like Air Bnb which have swallowed up a lot of formerly affordable long-term rental spots. Encouraging converting existing abandoned factories and office buildings into lower-cost housing where feasible might be a better way to go…work with what we’ve already got.

Thanks
Lori S.

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