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Mary Asselstine

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Category: Planning & Development

Bill 23 – “The promote urban sprawl and get rid of that pesky green space Act”

November 30, 2022

On October 25, 2022 the Ontario government tabled Bill 23, the More Homes, Built Faster Act.
According to the government this Bill is designed to address the “Housing Crisis” in Ontario and supports the construction of 1.5 million new housing units over the next ten years.

On the surface this seems laudable however the legislation fails to acknowledge that there is also an “Affordability Crisis”, a “Climate Crisis”, a “Species Diversity Crisis”, and a “Crisis in Democracy”. This myopic single issue legislation will do more harm than good and it is unclear who will actually benefit from it.

Let’s look at just a few of the details:

Your taxes are at risk of going up!
Development charges (fees levied to developers to pay for new infrastructure and services), and your tax dollar pay in part for the introduction of new residential development. Bill 23 proposes a reduction in Development Charges in an effort to reduce the price of new homes. In
reality, there is no guarantee that lower home prices will result. What is likely to happen however, is that your taxes will go up to support new development.

Conservation Authorities and York Region Planners provide assistance to the Township of King on matters of natural hazards, conservation of wetlands and woodlots, watershed planning, growth management, transportation planning, and service infrastructure.

Bill 23 cuts both the Region of York and the Conservation Authorities in part out of the local planning process downloading the roles to the Township of King. If we want to continue to implement the vision in our Official Plan new tools and staff resources will be required for King Township. As a result, it is likely that your taxes will go up.

Our Vision for Our Communities is at Risk!
Over the last few years the Township of King has completed a new Official Plan, new Zoning By-laws for the Villages and a Rural Zoning Bylaw. These documents form the vision that we chose for our communities. Along with these planning documents we have tools such as the Green Development Standards and the Village Design Guidelines that are implemented through “Site Plan Control”. These standards and guidelines help to encourage modern energy efficient and sustainable building designs and help to protect the character of our heritage and established neighbourhoods.

Bill 23 limits the ability of municipalities to apply “Site Plan Control”. So on a lot by lot basis, in our established neighbourhoods, there will be no ability to protect the character of the neighbourhood or encourage sustainable building design.

In addition, Bill 23 has made it much more difficult to protect heritage character by putting new rules and limitations on the application of the Heritage Act.

Your right to have a say in the future of your community is at risk!
Major changes to the Planning Act through the application of Bill 23 will severely limit your right to be involved. When planning applications are made for the development of a subdivision, there will no longer be a requirement for a statutory public meeting. Concerns from the public will consequently be heard later in the approval process when it is less likely to have any influence on the outcome. In addition, members of the public will no longer have any right to appeal a decision to the Ontario Lands Tribunal.

Our environment is at risk!
The Conservation Authorities have many roles including helping to protect our communities from the impact of natural hazards; protecting environmentally sensitive lands such as wetlands; and, assisting the Township of King by providing direction on development applications.

Bill 23 will seriously compromise the role of the Conservation Authorities by allowing exemptions from natural hazard permits, allowing wetlands to be drained and built upon, opening Conservation Authority lands for sale to the development industry and preventing municipalities from entering into agreements with conservation authorities to review planning applications on their behalf.

The Bill also sets the stage for urban expansion and future sprawl. Following the tabling of this Bill the Ontario Government proposed opening up Greenbelt Lands for development. These lands, which are outside of the defined urban boundary, have historically been protected to safe guard our drinking water, protect agricultural lands and protect sensitive ecosystems.

Conclusion
We need more homes, but what we need is increased density in existing urban areas (soft density) and support for more affordable units. There is enough existing designated residential land to accommodate growth for decades to come.

There is no need for Bill 23.

Discussions at the Door, Heritage, Nature, News, Planning & Development, Recent Posts

What is Bill 66

January 11, 2019

Dear Editor

I know that most people who live in King Township care about protecting the environment. They care about clean drinking water, strong self-sufficient communities and effective public involvement in government decisions that affect them. Bill 66 (Restoring Ontario’s Competitiveness Act), a Bill that is being proposed by the Provincial government, opens the door to undermine all of these things. Under the pretext of supporting business and job creation, this Bill grants Municipalities the option to designate lands for employment purposes anywhere, ignoring the requirements of the Greenbelt Act, the Oak Ridges Moraine Act, the Clean Water Act, the Lake Simcoe Protection Act, the Planning Act and the Places to Grow Act, without any requirement or recourse for public input or appeal

So what is the Provincial government trying to do

  • Providing Employment – So let’s examine this more closely. I live in Schomberg. This is a tight-knit community of residential neighbourhoods and commercial and light industrial businesses that provide services and jobs. It is functionally walkable and provides opportunities for both outdoor and indoor recreation. It meets many of the requirements for a “sustainable” community. Included in the Village of Schomberg is a large area east of Highway #27 designated as employment lands. Much of this land has been left vacant for years. In fact every community in the GTA, through public consultation and the desire to build strong communities, has already designated employment lands … there is no shortage. Instead of opening up lands arbitrarily, effort needs to be made to develop the existing employment lands where services and infrastructure are already provided or planned for and where there is a local employment pool.
  • Cutting Red Tape – The government is trying to stream-line the development process by cutting red tape. I don’t know about you, but the Acts that safe-guard our drinking water, protect our right to effective public consultation and protect agricultural land and important environmental services and areas, do not seem like red tape to me.
  • Downloading the development process to the Municipalities – On the surface it looks like the Provincial government is giving Municipalities more authority … and in some respects they are. However it also gives Municipalities more burdens and responsibilities. Let’s say the Township decides to designate industrial lands adjacent to the 400. Makes sense … until they are required to take on the burden of building and maintaining services and infrastructure and start getting complaints about increased traffic, noise and pollution. Bill 66 forgoes all checks and balances and promotes only a single consideration in the planning process. Where is the vision? And if something goes wrong or there is public back-lash, the Province gets to wash their hands of it.

I have to ask this question. Who is the Provincial government listening to? The only people who benefit from this legislation are developers, who own large chucks of land throughout the GTA, and big business. I doubt if many of the jobs created would go to existing local residents. There may be some tax benefit but will that be off-set by the new costs? In the end it will push our villages closer to bedroom communities and farther from the sustainable communities that we want.

Are you concerned? Not everyone has time to get involved in large picture planning considerations like this one, but there are a few things you can do. Contact your councillor … mine is Bill Cober (bcober@king.ca), the mayor Steve Pellegrini (spellegrini@king.ca) or the Township CEO Susan Plamondon (splamondon@king.ca). And you can contact your MPP Stephen Lecce (stephen.lecce@pc.ola.org). Ask questions. Let them know what you think. For more information or to sign a petition you can go to https://act.environmentaldefence.ca/page/35250/action/1environmentaldefence.ca.

Mary Asselstine

 

News, Planning & Development, Recent Posts

66 Main Street – Part 2

August 17, 2018

Several weeks ago a small group of us met at 66 Main Street to view the house and discuss any changes in the development proposal. The owner expressed a sincere interest in the protection and restoration of the house which was very encouraging. At that point they were still in consultation with the Township Planning Department and Conservation Authority.

Since then two things have happened. The first is the purchase of 72 Main Street. My understanding is that this property, which is immediately west of 66 Main Street, was purchased by the developer. This will likely mean that there will be more townhomes proposed, but it also means that there is an opportunity to reconfigure the proposal, saving more trees, eliminating the crowding of houses and roads at Main Street and removing all proposed development from the floodplain.

more “66 Main Street – Part 2”

Planning & Development, Uncategorized

Roselina Development Part 2

July 8, 2018

I attended the Council meeting on June 25 where Council considered the development proposal to extend Roselena and build 51 new single family homes. There was a presentation given by staff and the developers’ representative and several presentations by concerned neighbours. One person representing the existing residents on Roselena talked about the issue of traffic and suggested that only emergency access link Roselena Dr. between the existing and proposed development. A resident living downstream of the site expressed serious concerns about the extent of the development and filling in the floodplain and how it will impact flood levels up and downstream of the site as well as impact the sensitive environmental features. A third resident pointed out the failing wells in the area and was concerned that this new development may exacerbate the problem.

more “Roselina Development Part 2”

Planning & Development

Roselena Drive Extension and Subdivision Development

1
June 20, 2018

I have been thinking about the proposed development at the end of Roselena and what it will offer to the people who will live there and who already live nearby and how it will impact the natural spaces. Fifty -one homes will change this area forever so how do we make sure that people are given an attractive and safe place to live and the natural features are protected as much as possible?
more “Roselena Drive Extension and Subdivision Development”

Planning & Development

66 Main Street

2
June 7, 2018

I thought I would update you on what is happening at 66 Main Street. A group of us met with the developer yesterday to discuss the protection of the heritage home. He took us on a tour of the house which is currently full of trash. He will be inviting the Heritage Advisory Committee and the Museum to tour the place as well. There are some beautiful interior features but the restoration will be a lot of work. The developer is not only happy to do the restoration but is eager to see the house assume its former grandeur.
more “66 Main Street”

Heritage, Planning & Development
  • Bill 23 – “The promote urban sprawl and get rid of that pesky green space Act”
  • The Roland Michener Conservation Award
  • Blog
  • What is Bill 66
  • Schomberg/Lloydtown
  • November 2022
  • August 2022
  • January 2019
  • October 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018

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