The government has released A Place to Grow, which replaces the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe, 2017. It introduces more flexibility to planning and greater local autonomy. It addresses barriers to building homes, creating jobs, attracting investments and putting in place the right infrastructure while protecting the environment.
A Place to Grow: Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe 2019 (“the Plan”) provides a long-term framework for growth. It aims to:
On January 15, 2019, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing (“the Ministry”) released Proposed Amendment 1 to the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe, 2017 for consultation. Public consultation took place for 45 days, from January 15, 2019 to February 28, 2019. The Ministry also held regional roundtables and meetings with stakeholders and Indigenous communities during the consultation period.
This notice is linked to three others with a combined total of 650 submissions.
The Plan addresses implementation challenges with the Growth Plan, 2017 that were identified by the municipal and development sectors, as well as other stakeholders. It respects the ability of local governments to make decisions about how they grow. The Province will maintain protections for the Greenbelt, agricultural lands, the agri-food sector, and natural heritage systems.
A Place to Grow reflects the following across six broad categories:
The new Plan will take effect on May 16, 2019 and does not impact protections in the Greenbelt Area including the Oak Ridges Moraine and the Niagara Escarpment.
In addition to the 650 submissions received, the Ministry held seven regional roundtables and a stakeholder exchange with representatives of municipal planning and economic development departments, developers/homebuilders, agricultural and environmental representatives, citizen groups and other stakeholders. Over 400 people participated in these sessions and a dozen additional technical discussions with a cross-section of stakeholder organizations were conducted.
The Ministry also held meetings with several First Nations and Métis communities and organizations.
There was broad support for the flexibility the new Plan provides in supporting implementation, and for moving forward in a timely fashion so as not to delay planning work.
As the new Plan is based on input received from those who need to implement it (i.e. municipal and development sectors), both sectors were generally supportive of the increased flexibility and greater local autonomy the new Plan provides. While supportive of the changes, suggestions received noted the need for greater clarity through guidance on provincial expectations on implementation; the desire to lower the minimum targets for some; the need to update forecasts and other elements in the Plan; and the reiteration that the new Plan needs to be finalized quickly so that planning to meet conformity can be done in a timely manner.
Conversely, the agricultural and environmental sectors, as well as Indigenous communities, were concerned that the changes would result in the loss of agricultural and sensitive environmental lands. Both sectors recommended maintaining Growth Plan, 2017 targets and freezing urban boundaries, with some requesting that provincial mapping of the Agricultural System and the Natural Heritage System continue to remain in effect. Respondents from other sectors such as industry, business and planning were supportive of protecting employment through the use of the new Provincially Significant Employment Zones ( PSEZs ).
It should be noted that generally across all sectors there was support for intensification around Major Transit Station Areas.
In response to feedback, the new Plan reflects: