[GREN-Exec] Important - Region Official Plan - Troubling News....

Thu Oct 28 20:07:36 EDT 2021

Hi GREN Executive,

Last Friday I attended a meeting of the Region of Waterloo ROP Community Stakeholder group.  Regional Staff presented their recommendations and next steps for the ROP.  I have attached the slides from their presentation below.  

The most important slide of the presentation is Slide #5 that outlines the three growth options that we have discussed already at recent GREN Executive meetings:

	- Scenario #1 - Status Quo with little new intensification, lots of sprawl, and requiring breaching the Countryside Line with 1200ha (600ha  residential, 600ha employment) of greenfield and farms paved over
	- Scenario #2 - Mediocre growth internally and requiring breaching the Countryside Line with 900ha (300ha residential, 600ha employment) of greenfield and farms paved over
	- Scenario #3 - Aggressive intensification with all residential growth within urban boundaries and the Countryside Line breached for 600ha (0ha residential, 600ha employment) of greenfield and farms paved over

Unfortunately, Staff is recommending Scenario #2 - an option with intensification levels and densities lower than what we are already successfully achieving.  It is an unambitious plan that may not even allow us to reach our 2030 and 2050 Paris Accord targets.  

Worse yet instead of months of consultation, community engagement, media coverage, and dialog on these scenarios as anticipated, instead Staff will be asking Council for a final decision on November 9th with no plan for consultation or engagement.  Thus, the most important planning decision we will make for decades will happen during a pandemic with no public engagement.

Not surprisingly there was considerable backlash during the Stakeholder Meeting urging Staff to be more ambitious, to strive for higher targets, to allow for more time for consultation, etc.  The pushback was so strong from almost every person present (even some developers) that we were all sure that Staff would reconsider things and chart a new course - rethinking recommending Growth Scenario #2 and aim for something more ambitious.  I had also hoped that they would also reconsider bringing it to Regional Council so soon on November 9th with no public engagement, no consultation, no media coverage, or even much time for any sort of dialog before locking us into 30 years of unappeallable land-use decisions.

Unfortunately, in an hour long phone call with Brenna McKinnon at the Region today, I learned that they are not backing down but doubling down on bringing their inadequate recommendation to Council for approval on November 9th.  Apparently John Lubanisky is rushing to finalize the staff report today that will be released to the public tomorrow (Friday) afternoon in advance of the November 9th Council meeting.

On the bright side this report is being released one week earlier than most Council packages that are usually released only a few days in advance of any Council meeting.  Unfortunately, one week is not nearly sufficient time for adequate communication and discussion in the community before we lock into a plan that will last for more than a generation with no ability to undo or reverse it.

All of the scenarios presented will require breaching the Countryside Line - a line that was supposed to hold and guide growth for decades and not be breached at the very first review.  The citizens of Hamilton have been vigorously debating the three scenarios presented by their Staff for over 9 months now with considerable front page media coverage, huge lawn sign campaigns, surveys sent to every home by the municipality, and more than 90% of citizens voting for a No Sprawl option that will not breach their urban boundaries.  What they have spent almost a year energetically discussing we are only going to have a week….

With only a week to react there isn’t likely much that we can do, however Regional Staff is going to be asking Councillors to approve their recommended Scenario #2 that involves breaching the Countryside Line when most of the Councillors were elected committing to not breach the Countryside Line.  Canadians are clearly demanding more action on climate change, better action at COP26, our governments to lead, bold visionary ideas, etc. and yet we have our historically leading-edge Region is now recommending a dismal long-term intensification target that is lower than what we are currently achieving.

I doubt that we can prompt 600,000 citizens to action in only a week, but hopefully there is a way that we can at least get a friendly amendment to the Staff Recommendation and a delay in the vote so that in addition to Scenario #2 that Staff also report back to Council on scenarios that would not require breaching the Countryside Line that includes more ambitious targets so that Councillors can make a final decision in the new year rather than now with such inadequate consultation on such an important decision.

I have reached out to Sean Campbell at Hold the Line Waterloo Region, Mark Reusser from the OFA, and Tova Davidson from Sustainable Waterloo who were all at the Stakeholder Meeting to get their input.  I also have a meeting with Regional Chair Karen Redman tomorrow (Friday afternoon) and will keep you posted.

Please share any thoughts, ideas, and what you think we can do to get a better ROP that doesn’t breach the Countryside Line and pave over our farmland.

Thanks,
Kevin.

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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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