[GREN-Exec] Troubling Provincial Growth Plan Changes Coming....

[Greg Michalenko]

I'm busy for the moment with the community gardens reopening -  virtual meetings, preparation of advisory guidelines, etc. I should have time for helping combat this new alarming Fordist plague in a couple of days.


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From: Executive <executive-bounces at gren.ca> on behalf of John Jackson <jjackson at web.ca>
Sent: Tuesday, April 28, 2020 11:27 AM
To: Kevin Thomason
Cc: GREN Executive
Subject: Re: [GREN-Exec] Troubling Provincial Growth Plan Changes Coming....

This is so alarming - such insanity.

Yes we definitely must do a lot on this and need to think of some creative new appropriate ways to lobby in a time of pandemic.

Keep us informed.

John


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John Jackson
17 Major Street
Kitchener N2H 4R1
519-744-7503




On Apr 28, 2020, at 10:58 AM, Kevin Thomason <kevinthomason at mac.com<mailto:kevinthomason at mac.com>> wrote:

Hi GREN Exec,

Last week as part of the Ontario Greenbelt Alliance, the Steering Committee that I am member of received leaked information from internal staff at the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing that significant changes to the provincial Growth Plan will be announced in the coming days (staff were forced to work all weekend on things though we have no idea why such a rush).

>From what we can cobble together the development industry has convinced Premier Doug Ford to open up significant new lands for development by changing the land needs assessment process and getting rid of the previous density targets and requirements for housing type (diverse, mixed communities).  It is the opposite of Smart Growth that takes us back to 1970’s and 1990’s planning.  It will open up thousands of hectares of farmland to urban sprawl, take away local food and farm gate sales when we need them the most, greatly impact development charges and infrastructure costs for cash-strapped municipalities, and make achieving future public transit densities very difficult to achieve all in the misguided belief that we have a shortage of development lands and that by opening up rural greenfields for more urban sprawl house prices will somehow plummet.

It is what developers have sought for decades and could have devastating long-term consequences.  Emergency meetings of key environmental groups, experts, and others have been happening over the past few days.  I have spent considerable time with former Waterloo Region Planner Kevin Eby who says this is an exact repeat of what developers tried in Waterloo in 2009 when they tried to overturn our Regional Official Plan and the way that land needs assessment was calculated by using different assesement methods, “market-based” forecasts, and very “creative" density timelines.

We won’t know the exact details until released by the province in the days ahead but why Doug Ford is trying to push this through in the middle of a pandemic just after overriding the EBR and all need for public consultation is quite troubling.

Our options for response are quite limited when due to COVID-19 there is no ability to meet in person, to organize rallies, protests, or even just to meet with our MPP’s - so many of the things that helped to turn the tide last year on Bill 66 and get the Ford government to abandon it.  There are Op-Ed’s being drafted, press releases being written, websites to e-mail MPP’s created though in anticipation of the pending announcements.

Attached below is information on what we believe they will be releasing - anything could change at the last minute for better or worse though as many Mayors and others are trying to use backchannels to reach Queen’s Park and salvage years of recent good growth planning that for example has seen urban sprawl in Waterloo Region drop from 78% to just 13% of all building permits in recent years.

Please share any thoughts or ideas and I will keep you posted as we learn more.

Stay safe in the meantime,
Kevin.

<Rumoured Changes Under Consideration for the Provincial Growth Plan.docx>

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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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