|
Planning
Policy Statement
Five Year Review |
The provincial government is
undertaking a review of its land use planning policies -- the
Provincial Policy statement under the Planning Act.
Information is available on the
Ministry web site in a special section on the Provincial
Policy Statement Five Year Review
The deadline for submissions is
5:00 p.m., Friday October 12, 2001. Key questions the
government would like you to consider are:
- Do the principles in the Provincial
Policy Statement embody the priorities you think the province should have in land use planning?
- Do the principles of the Provincial Policy Statement support Smart Growth objectives of promoting and managing growth in ways that sustain a strong economy, build strong communities and promote a healthy environment?
- Has the Provincial Policy Statement been effective in providing
decision-makers with direction on provincial interests in land use
planning matters?
- Is the scope and detail of the Provincial Policy Statement appropriate?
- Are the policies in the Provincial Policy Statement clear and understandable?
- Are the policies being implemented successfully at the local level?
- Are there policies that are no longer needed?
From our factsheet on Urban
Sprawl, here are three suggestions for improving the planning
system in Ontario:
Strengthen the Planning Act to require ecologically sound development.
Although the Provincial Policy Statement includes ecological goals, there is no requirement that municipalities,
planners, and developers meet the highest ecological standards. In particular, the requirement to "have regard for"
provincial policies could be strengthened
Develop Regional Plans to manage growth.
Municipal Plans are currently developed in isolation from each other. Regional plans are required to determine where development and growth is appropriate and can best support an efficient public transportation system
Provide special protection for the Oak Ridges Moraine, prime farmland, and other significant ecological areas.
An alternative to regional plans is to develop special plans, similar to the Niagara Escarpment Plan, for other significant ecological features and resources of the province.
|
|
Planning
in the Dark:
the Lack of Public Data |
Good planning needs good
data. So it's a bit surprising to see how little information
is provided with the call for public comments on the Provincial
Policy Statement.
No information on land use trends
is available on the ministry's website. How, then, is the
public to comment on the value of the Policy?
Here's an example. Statistics
Canada reports that the percentage of prime agricultural land lost
to urban development rose to 19 per cent by 1996 (the year the new
policy was introduced).
|
Class
1 Farmland Occupied by Urban Land |
| Date |
Percentage |
| 1971 |
13 |
| 1981 |
14 |
| 1991 |
17 |
| 1996 |
19 |
|
Source: Human
Activity and the Environment 2000, Statistics Canada |
How has this trend been affected by
the introduction of the new Provincial Policy Statement? Has
the government been able to stem the loss of Canada's prime
agricultural land, over 50% of which lies in southern Ontario? As
we point our in our factsheet
on urban sprawl, neither the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, nor the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing keeps track
of the loss of prime agricultural land to urban development. The
Conservation Council has written to the Minister of Municipal
Affairs and Housing to request that the Ministry post a summary of
land use trends on its website by September 1, 2001.
|
Smart
Growth:
Whose definition? |
The government's purpose of the Five Year Review is to
help determine whether Ontario's land use planning
policies are consistent with Smart Growth: the government's
strategy for promoting and managing growth in ways that sustain a
strong economy, build strong communities and promote a healthy
environment.
This creates another problem: first we need to agree on the
goals for Smart Growth.
The Conservation Council has developed an alternative vision
for Smart Growth in Ontario -- one based on the established
principles from America. Early results from the response
form on our Smart Growth section indicate
overwhelming support for
the Conservation Council's vision over the draft version released
by the government:
Jane Jacobs and the Federation
of Ontario Naturalists have supported our vision for Smart
Growth. We'd like to hear from you! See our Smart
Growth Section to compare vision statements and send in
your comments.
|
