On Monday 5/29 Council agenda there is a report reviewing Planning Staff’s assessment of the proposed new Provincial Policy Statement (PPS) which will replace the existing PPS and A Place To Grow: Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe (GGH).  It’s a large report (52 pages).  If there is interest in understanding the significant proposed changes to how land use planning is done in King, and in Ontario, I recommend you read pages 18-22 which is the draft letter to be sent to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs & Housing. I am very satisfied with our Staff’s feedback to the Ministry including some proposed compromises on policy choices.

The paragraph (taken from the above mentioned letter) below summarizes why the proposal is of great concern.

The proposed vision in the 2023 PPS states “More than anything, a prosperous Ontario will see the building of more homes for all Ontarians”. The language “more than anything” places such a strong emphasis on one element of communities and does not provide a balanced approach to sustainable and complete communities. Staff are supportive of the Province’s goal to provide more housing, however, providing housing for all Ontarians should not come at the expense of the natural environment, employment, and socio-cultural matters, including affordable housing.”

The Staff report is very instructive for non Planners.  For each of the 10 key areas reviewed there is summary of current state (i.e. current PPS and Growth Plan for GGH), summary of the proposed PPS, and then a section of comments and implications.)

Reading through it I often thought how once again, we don’t know how good, how effective something is, until it is being taken away.  The new PPS permits and in some cases almost encourages municipalities to act with a very short term horizon.  As indicated in the above paragraph from the Staff report, the new PPS is very narrow in how success is measured.  I presume that the changes are being made on the basis that red tape is being cut and therefore more houses will be built more quickly; very sadly not only is the focus narrow but also there is no push to build healthy, liveable, safe communities.  It is distressing how the proposed PPS, a guiding policy across Ontario, pays such little attention to the need to respond to climate change.  The latter requires more than directions on energy conservation and air quality.

The proposed PPS does not encourage being frugal with our open spaces and being careful with the natural environment. It enables more land, even prime agriculture, not being farmed.  No wonder that a new citizens movement, The Alliance for a Liveable Ontario has formed including a broad array of individuals and organizations has formed.

If you wish to make a deputation and/or provide your comments in an email you need to register (or send that email) by noon May 29 to clerks@king.ca.  To clarify, to make a deputation you need to register whether you will do in person at the Municipal Centre or by phone. I am also interested to hear comments directly by making a comment on my blog or contacting me directly.