Simcoe County Targeted For New Growth

Province Pushing Leapfrog Development
AWARE Simcoe note: this is part of a primer prepared by Council of Canadians, Earthroots and STORM (Save the Oak Ridges Moraine) Coalition on a proposed amendment to the Places to Grow legilation that will allow new development in a sensitive watershed in Simcoe County. For a full copy of the primer. contact info@stormcoalition.org. Simcoe County residents should also attend the Ontario government briefing on Thursday afternoon (details below).
The Ministry of Infrastructure has prepared an amendment to its Places to Grow Growth Plan for the
Greater Golden Horseshoe that will see major new residential, industrial and commercial development in
Simcoe County north of Ontario’s Greenbelt.
We have until January 26th, 2011 to provide comments to the Ministry. This primer lays out the basic
context and issues, however a full submission will be prepared and available for review. Details about
submitting comments are included below.
This is what leap-frog growth and urban sprawl looks like.
Background
– 2005 – Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing approves the Greenbelt Plan to sustain the
countryside and protect good agricultural lands in the Greater Golden Horseshoe
– 2005 – Ministry of Public Infrastructure and Renewal approves Places To Grow: A Growth Plan for
the Greater Golden Horseshoe to ensure that planning is done in a “rational and strategic way”
– 2008 – Ministry of Environment approves Lake Simcoe Protection Plan “to protect and restore the
ecological health of the Lake Simcoe watershed.”
– 2009 – Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure prepares the Simcoe Area: A Strategic Vision for
Growth
– 2010 – Ministry of Infrastructure prepares Proposed Amendment #1 to the Growth Plan to steer
growth into the Simcoe Area
The Issue:
The Ministry of Infrastructure has released for public consultation the Proposed Amendment # 1 to the
Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe (the Amendment). In effect the Amendment paves the
way for the population of the Simcoe Area to increase by about 230,000 to 677,000 and employment to
254,000 people by 2031. Townships like New Tecumseth and Bradford West Gwillimbury are expected to
double in population by 2031. Two new employment areas are identified in greenfield agricultural lands
along Highway 400 north of the Greenbelt.
What’s Wrong with this?
The purpose of the Greenbelt and Growth Plans was to stop continuous urban sprawl by focusing growth
in existing urban areas that are fully serviced or to lands that are adjacent to serviced lands to avoid the
“greenbelt leapfrog” effect – basically to stop designating new areas for urban development that would
require huge capital investment of new water pipes, new sewage pipes and new roads. The Growth Plan
laid out a vision for the Greater Golden Horseshoe to the year 2031 that focused on long-term prosperity
and quality of life in the Greater Toronto Area. The Growth Plan was recognized with a prestigious award
by the American Planning Association for its innovative long-term vision for Ontario’s most populous
region.
This Amendment undermines and completely contradicts the vision for the Greater Golden Horseshoe
and turns back the clock by opening up the whole of Simcoe County to fragmented urban planning:
instead of focusing all new growth to Barrie (an existing urban centre with existing infrastructure), the
province envisions that each municipality will have a piece of the pie: Bradford West Gwillimbury – urban
node and new strategic employment area; Innisfil – close to double the population and new employment
area; Adjala-Tosorontio – limited new residential and employment growth; New Tecumseth – double the
population.
Much of this new growth will take place within the Lake Simcoe Watershed – a watershed indentified as a
“watershed in distress” that required provincial intervention only two years ago with the enactment of
the Lake Simcoe Protection Act and Plan. Of course with new urban growth comes the need for either
new infrastructure or upgrades and extensions to existing services. Due to the sensitive nature of Lake
Simcoe, growth under this Amendment will require massive pipeline projects to address the constraints of
this watershed. The environmental impacts and costs of the infrastructure required to service this growth
has not been examined, reversing the sustainable planning process.
In summary:
New growth is being proposed in a watershed that is highly sensitive to the impacts of urban
development (stormwater runoff, waste water effluent, water-taking, construction of underground
pipes), would require huge new capital investment of new water and wastewater pipes, roads and
highways and in small rural municipalities that do not have either the capacity or the experience to plan,
operate or maintain this scale of infrastructure.
How to Submit Comments:
There are two ways individuals and organizations should submit comments to the Environmental Bill of
Rights (EBR) concerning this redirection of growth in Ontario.
Directly through the EBR website:
http://www.ebr.gov.on.ca/ERS-WEBExternal/
displaynoticecontent.do?noticeId=MTExMjQx&statusId=MTY2OTI0&language=en
or by Mail to:
Tija Dirks
Director, Ministry of Energy, Ontario Growth Secretariat
Growth Policy, Planning and Analysis
777 Bay Street, Floor 4, Toronto Ontario M5G 2E5
Phone: (416) 325-1210
Opportunity to Express 0pinion: Attend Ministry of Infrastructure Presentation
Thursday, January 13, 2011
2:00-4:30pm
MacLaren Art Centre, Rotary Education Room
37 Mulcaster Street
Barrie, Ontario
RSVP to Nicole LeBrun at Nicole.Lebrun@ontario.ca.
For more information on the Proposed Amendment and the technical briefing, visit
www.ontario.ca/placestogrow