Why a court case in Waterloo helps other Ontario cities limit urban sprawl
by John Michael McGrath The Agenda Tuesday June 2, 2015
In 2009, the Region of Waterloo approved a regional plan to constrain sprawl and encourage transit use. Developers fought back, starting a legal battle. Now, the two camps have reached a settlement that cuts the land available for new development by more than half.
The agreement could help intensify a growing trend: Ontario cities outside the Greater Toronto Area are attempting to become more compact, transit-oriented communities.
“It’s very good news,” says Rob Horne, the Region of Waterloo’s commissioner of planning. “Council stuck to the vision. Over the course of six years regional council hasn’t deviated from the plan, and this settlement adheres to that vision.”
The vision was supposed to be implemented with a Regional Official Plan (ROP) in 2009 that put thousands of hectares of land off-limits for new residential developments.
Developers who owned some of the land appealed the plan to the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB), and demanded that 1,000 hectares be freed up to build homes. In 2013, the Board sided with the developers, which prompted the region to launch a judicial appeal. The provincial government took Waterloo’s side, saying the region’s plans meshed with its own policies of protecting green space and combatting sprawl.
The settlement announced last Wednesday largely accepts the region’s land-budgeting process, but allows new development on a total of 455 hectares – less than half what landowners wanted. The settlement still needs to be approved by the OMB.
Kate Daley, co-founder of Smart Growth Waterloo, which supported the region’s official plan, says the settlement and the end of the court process is important.
“Without it, we’d be dependent on a court process that’s been very drawn out and could have been much longer with no guarantees. Instead, we get a made-in-Waterloo solution to the OMB ruling,” Daley says.
Horne says in the six years since Waterloo Region approved its official plan, local trends have reflected a desire for more compact cities. In the last five years, 55 per cent of new development has been in already built-up areas. According to the region’s planning department, more than half of all new residential developments in Waterloo are being built close to the LRT line scheduled to open in 2017. The official plan is expected to grow those numbers.
“The trend is consistent and sustained,” says Horne. “It’s not a one-year blip.”
The settlement comes at a time when the Ontario government is reviewing its signature policy for controlling sprawl, the GTA Greenbelt. While some municipalities in the GTA have sought to have its restrictions loosened (with growth pressure in places such as Brock Township or York Region), other municipalities outside the Greenbelt are looking for ways to constrain sprawl or reinforce their existing policies.
Barrie Mayor Jeff Lehman thinks a number of communities will be interested in the OMB’s reaction to the settlement. His city’s facing demographic changes that need to be reflected in future planning, including an aging population that has smaller housing needs.
Lehman notes there was a similar outcome in nearby Midhurst, where residents opposed a major new development of several thousand homes. Like in the Waterloo case, the result was a compromise that ended up with less than half as much land being released to developers (300 hectares instead of more than 750.)
“So I think this is a pattern we’re seeing elsewhere. The good news seems to be that even in the development community they understand we’re trying to change the pattern of growth,” Lehman says. “There’s willingness on both sides to show a little flexibility.”
Daley, however, suggests the province needs to go further to ensure development decisions aren’t left to the vagaries of the legal process. For example, she’d like to see the Greenbelt extended into the Waterloo area to give more provincial weight to the planning the region has started.
“We’re relieved we’ve averted disaster here,” she says. “But communities shouldn’t be this vulnerable.”
Compromise with developer reached on region’s official plan
The settlement would see the region increase the number of hectares available for urban development from its recommendation of 85 hectares to 255. The appellants had proposed 1,053 hectares.
Another additional 200 hectares of land will be available for urban development between 2016 and 2019, according to a region news release.
“The negotiated settlement preserves many of the things we are trying to do — it establishes our countryside line, it’s going where the OMB seemed to be heading with the larger amounts of land; it preserves the protection of the recharge areas,” said Regional Chair Ken Seiling on Tuesday (May 26).
“We’ve avoided a tremendously expensive process over the next little while. We’ve established the key policies that we need to establish in the plan and those are all part of the proposed settlement,” he said, adding there would have been no guaranteed outcome for the region through the OMB and court process.
The settlement still requires OMB endorsement.
Coun. Sean Strickland is hopeful the settlement will be approved.
“For both parties to come to a compromise is a much better decision than having one imposed on you by a quasi-judicial body like the OMB,” Strickland said.
The compromise was also applauded by Kevin Thomason, co-founder of Smart Growth Waterloo Region.
“While it’s a compromise, it’s a good one that will allow our community to protect our most important rural areas, while building more compact, livable cities. It’s a solid foundation for our future,” he said in a news release.
The region’s official plan was approved in 2009. It was approved by the province in 2010, but more than 20 people filed appeals.
The region lost an appeal in 2013, with the OMB ruling in favour of more land for new development. It sided with the appellants, asking for 1,053 hectares.
The region launched two legal actions saying the OMB misinterpreted the Provincial Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe and the OMB was biased, using a consultant representing some of the appellants in its training.
Negotiations with the appellants began in late 2013.
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