Reactions to Crombie report

Curbing urban sprawl by promoting greater density, improving public transit, and preserving farmland are critical to protecting the Greater Golden Horseshoe, says former Toronto mayor David Crombie

By Robert Benzie Toronto Star Dec 7 2015

Curbing urban sprawl by promoting greater density, improving public transit, and preserving farmland are critical to protecting the Greater Golden Horseshoe, says former Toronto mayor David Crombie.

In a sweeping 177-page report to the provincial government that makes 87 land-use recommendations, Crombie urged Queen’s Park to expand the 800,000 acre Greenbelt on the outskirts of the Greater Toronto Area.

“It is essential the province acts quickly in order to ensure the brightest future for everyone who lives and works in the region,” he told reporters Monday, adding it is “an historic opportunity” for Ontario. “We’re all energized.”

Crombie’s panel, which examined Greenbelt Plan, the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan, the Niagara Escarpment Plan and the Greater Golden Horseshoe growth plan, said the Greenbelt must be strengthened and increased in size to tackle the “risk of ‘leapfrog’ development in areas … such as Simcoe and Brant Counties.”

The Greater Golden Horseshoe, which encompasses the vast swath around the GTA from Niagara Falls to Brantford to Kitchener-Waterloo to Orillia to Peterborough to Brighton, is “Canada’s largest economic engine,” said Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Ted McMeekin. “I’m very excited about the recommendations,” said McMeekin, adding Crombie’s findings will help shape new land-use legislation expected next spring.

Queen’s Park estimates the region will grow from about 9 million people today to around 13.5 million by 2041 – a 50 per cent increase in a quarter century. But Southern Ontario’s traditional way of handling such rapid growth — building sprawling subdivisions along highways — is no longer sustainable for many reasons.

“Ultimately, the amount of land needed to accommodate expected growth to 2041 will depend on the rate of intensification (infill in existing urban areas) and the density of new development in each municipality,” the report said. “Fortunately, land consumption rates are decreasing, reflecting a trend towards building more compact communities.”

Crombie noted that while the region only contains 3.5 per cent of the province’s land area, it contains 42 per cent of the province’s best farmland, including the Niagara tender fruit and grape area and the Holland Marsh.

Burkhard Mausberg, chief executive of the Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation, said the report makes “thoughtful recommendations to strengthen the agriculture sector at a time when farmland is under increasing pressure from development.” “Recent data shows that three quarters of the GTA’s most-productive farmland is under threat of being swallowed up by unsustainable growth,” said Mausberg.

Tim Gray, executive director of Environmental Defence, hailed the Crombie panel’s call for “greater urban densities that limit sprawl and enable better transit is a clear, smart solution.” “It sets the stage for the province to provide transit funding incentives that are contingent on growing more compactly and for Ontario to clarify to communities that land cannot be removed from the Greenbelt to ensure sprawl is slowed and stopped.”

Premier Kathleen Wynne has already promised $31.5 billion in new transit and transportation infrastructure over the next decade with about half of that earmarked for the GTA.

Growth pains will worsen if we don’t tighten Greenbelt: Cohn

If we keep building bedroom communities far from workplaces, our suburbs will soon be obsolete

By Martin Regg Cohn Toronto Star Dec 08 2015
Unless the Greenbelt is tightened a few notches, Ontario’s urban bulges and suburban sprawl will show yet more middle-age spread.
A decade after the government vowed to limit growth in the wrong places with its much touted (but insufficiently tight) Greenbelt, provincial policies are straining under the weight of their own contradictions.
A report delivered Monday by Toronto’s one-time tiny, perfect mayor, David Crombie, highlights past imperfections. Part of an obligatory 10-year review of the Greenbelt, Crombie’s report also raises red flags about uncontrolled regional growth in the decades ahead.
We already pay a price in congestion for the lack of connections between economic growth, residential construction and transit planning. If we keep building bedroom communities at great distances from daytime workplaces, our suburbs will suffer from built-in obsolescence.
If we blithely rely on commuting by car, local congestion will intersect with global warming in the worst possible way. The reality is that a robust Greenbelt can reduce our greenhouse gas emissions.
Crombie, a former federal Tory cabinet minister, is optimistic that the provincial Liberals get it — and will incorporate his recommendations in their planned update next year: His report examines both the Greenbelt and the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe — an arc stretching from Niagara to Peterborough, encompassing the GTA and Waterloo Region (the Niagara Escarpment Plan and Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan, are also part of the mix).
Despite Crombie’s hopes, Queen’s Park can’t get by on just a plan and a prayer. Urban planning is nothing if not complicated, and getting it right requires compliance at all levels — which is where the Greenbelt has failed so far.
The Greater Golden Horseshoe is made up of 110 distinct districts and municipalities that lack an effective form of regional governance to connect the dots on the map, leaving each community free to do its own thing. While the Growth Plan sets a 40-per-cent “intensification” target for residential construction (as opposed to carving out new areas for land-hungry developers), many outlying municipalities have relied on exemptions to produce far lower targets, ranging from 15 to 32 per cent.
The provincial strategy “is showing mixed results so far,” Crombie’s report notes dryly. And despite a declared objective to boost transit links, the report “found marginal changes . . . with the vast majority of residents continuing to rely on cars for their morning commute.”
Even if future targets are met, transit users would increase from 14 per cent to only 17 per cent over the next quarter-century. The proliferation of “low-density housing and employment options will not provide the numbers of riders needed to support efficient and attractive transit systems.”
Even when municipalities do the right thing, they face the utter unpredictability of the Ontario Municipal Board, whose provincial appointees adjudicate development disputes for better or for worse.
“Despite this strong policy and legal framework, there are still situations where municipal decisions are appealed to the OMB,” the report notes incredulously.
When Waterloo Region tried to align land use with provincial growth targets, it got bogged down in interminable hearings and incoherent rulings from an obtuse OMB that appeared to be at cross-purposes with the province’s best-laid plans. Crombie’s report should be required reading for every member of the OMB, notably those who believe the best Greenbelt is a slack one.
It should also be compulsory homework for politicians across the Greater Golden Horseshoe, a region that generates two-thirds of Ontario’s economic activity. If they want to manage growth, they need to grow into their jobs.
Over the next quarter-century, the region’s population of 9 million is expected to surge by 50 per cent to 13.5 million — roughly the size of the entire province today. That requires building residences in the right places, with the right transit links to the right workplaces.
Treating the Greenbelt like a line in the sand isn’t good enough. All these years later, it’s time to open the lines of communication — and ensure compliance — among all 110 communities within the Greater Golden Horseshoe, before our luck runs out.

Crombie report hits the mark: Protect Ontario’s most vulnerable water resources

News release from Oakridges Moraine Partnership

Environmental groups applaud Advisory Panel for strong stance on protecting the region’s water Toronto – Growing the Greenbelt into areas of critical ecological and hydrological significance were among key recommendations put forward by David Crombie, Chair of the Coordinated Land Use Planning Review Advisory Panel, this afternoon in their report “Planning for Health, Prosperity and Growth in the Greater Golden Horseshoe: 2015-2041.”

“We are thrilled to see that the Crombie Panel has recommended additional lands be added to the Greenbelt, focusing on vulnerable source water areas,” reported Joyce Chau, executive director of EcoSpark. “Ontarians were loud and clear that the protection of our water and natural systems needed to be elevated in areas beyond the Oak Ridges Moraine and adjoining the Greenbelt.”

The report also highlights the untapped potential of the Greenbelt and Growth Plans to address climate change. “The Panel’s focus on climate change throughout this report is an important acknowledgement of what is possible with strong implementation of these plans,” says Caroline Schultz, executive director of Ontario Nature. “As we brace for extreme weather, flooding and droughts associated with climate change the enhancement of our natural systems is key to building resilience.”

The Panel’s recommendations will inform the Province’s next steps as they prepare policy amendments early next year. “We are urging the government to act quickly to grow the Greenbelt during this review,” says Josh Garfinkel, senior campaigner at Earthroots. “Growth pressures are building quickly and we can’t afford to sit idle.”

“We are indebted to David Crombie and members of the Advisory Panel as their advice will surely move us towards a more sustainable future,” says Debbe Crandall, policy advisor for STORM. “Now is the time for the Province to be bold and make these recommendations a reality to protect our land, water and communities.

OHBA looking forward to creating a “Smart Greenbelt”

News release from OHBA

The Ontario Home Builders’ Association (OHBA) welcomes future discussions with the Ontario government, municipalities, residents, farmers, environmental groups and other stakeholders to improve our quality of life with amendments to the Growth Plan and Greenbelt. OHBA congratulates the Expert Advisory Panel and Chair David Crombie for their comprehensive review of the Greenbelt Plan, the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe, the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan and the Niagara Escarpment Plan released today. In particular, OHBA supports the panel’s recommendations to: • Increase focused investment in transit initiatives to support complete communities; • Address barriers to intensification and the development of affordable housing by encouraging use of tools such as up-to-date zoning, the development permit system, community improvement plans and reduced residential parking requirements where transit and active transportation options exist; and • Clarify policies in the Growth Plan to better identify strategic areas within the region’s planned and existing transit network that should be a focal point for intensification efforts, in collaboration with municipalities and stakeholders. “From the beginning of this review, our goal was to ensure that a future Growth Plan would connect all the dots that will improve our quality of life,” said OHBA CEO Joe Vaccaro. “The province and municipalities are investing in transit and we need to have a workable plan in place to make sure new communities are built where infrastructure and zoning can accommodate them, and reflect our desire to build livable complete communities.” “The bottom line is that three million new residents are moving to the Greater Golden Horseshoe in the next 25 years – an average of 100,000 new people a year. To improve our quality of life, new communities must have diverse housing and access to green space, good public transit and jobs.” OHBA supports the Greenbelt and is committed to working with government, environmental groups, farmers and civic leaders to create a “Smart Greenbelt” to better achieve Ontario’s environmental goals. A “Smart Greenbelt” would utilize innovation and partnerships to enhance the Greenbelt’s ecological and environmental assets. OHBA believes by pursuing initiatives such as establishing climate-fighting zones, expanding animal habitats, and increasing public access, Ontarians will get more enjoyment from the Greenbelt. Over the course of the Review, OHBA released a series of reports to support complete investment-ready communities including: • Make Way for Mid-Rise: How to build more homes in walkable, transit-connected neighbourhoods (co-authored with Pembina Institute) • Make Way for Laneway: Providing more housing options for the Greater Toronto Area (co-authored with Pembina Institute) • Review and Strategic Assessment of the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe (Conducted by Deloitte Canada) • Improving the Growth Plan – Commentary (By University of Toronto Fellow Brad Graham and former provincial Smart Growth Strategy panelist Tom McCormack) These reports are available at http://ohba.ca/current_policy_reports_