HomeMy WebLinkAboutCSD-15-043 - City Response to Coordinated Provincial Plan Review (Growth Plan)
REPORT TO: Planning & Strategic Initiatives Committee
DATE OF MEETING: May 25, 2015
SUBMITTED BY: Alain Pinard, Director of Planning, 741-2200 ext. 7319
PREPARED BY: Tina Malone-Wright, Senior Planner, 741-2200 ext. 7765
WARD(S) INVOLVED: All
DATE OF REPORT: April 22, 2015
REPORT NO.: CSD-15-043
SUBJECT: City Response to Coordinated Provincial Plan Review
______________________________________________________________________
RECOMMENDATION:
That Report CSD-15-
with respect to Stage 1 of the gion/Our
Home/Our Community: A Discussion Document for the 2015 Co-ordinated
and that the Province of Ontario be requested to consider the comments,
contained in this report as they move forward with Stage 2 in recommending
potential amendments to the various Plans.
BACKGROUND:
On February 27, 2015 the Province announced a coordinated land use planning review
of four Provincial Plans (Growth Plan, Niagara Escarpment Plan, Oak Ridges Moraine
Conservation Plan, Greenbelt Plan). With all 21 upper and single tier municipalities
having adopted official plans or amendments to achieve conformity with the Growth
Plan and 71% of lower tier municipalities having done the same, the Province feels it is
an appropriate time to consider a review of the four Plans. The purpose of the review is
to focus on how the plans can better achieve the following six goals:
Protecting agricultural land, water and natural areas;
Keeping people and goods moving, and building cost-effective infrastructure;
Fostering healthy, liveable and inclusive communities;
Building communities that attract workers and create jobs;
Addressing climate change and building resilient communities; and
Improving implementation and better aligning the plans.
The review will include two formal stages of public consultation. The first stage
commenced with the release of the discussio
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the development of proposed amendments to the plans. The Director of Planning
th
attended a provincial-led town hall meeting on March 25 regarding the first stage of
consultation. The second stage of public consultation will obtain feedback on any
potential amendments to all of the four Plans.
The Growth Plan is currently the only Provincial Plan that applies directly to the City of
Kitchener.
REPORT:
The Province has provided a series of questions to help focus the discussion during the
first stage of consultation on the four Plans. The questions address issues that have
been raised by municipalities, stakeholders and the public and identified by the Province
during the implementation of the Plans.
was approved on November 19, 2014 and has subsequently been appealed to the
Ontario Municipal Board. The City
has also been appealed to the Ontario Municipal Board. Neither the City nor the Region
has been able to fully implement the Growth Plan through their Official Plans.
Given where we are at in implementing provincial policy and the tight timelines for
providing comments, the City will be providing high level comments related to systemic
issues and concerns rather than providing detailed responses to the questions that were
provided.
As is noted in the discussion document, municipalities are the primary implementers of
s land use policy. However the Province and their assistance are still
needed to defend, support,and uphold municipal decisions on provincial interests.
Municipalities need to have the Province involved, as a party, in any Ontario Municipal
Board hearings on municipal decisions where implementing provincial policy is the
central issue, and Ontario Municipal Board decisions need to be consistent on matters
of provincial interest. Until there are more significant changes in that regard, provincial
interests/policies will never be implemented in a coordinated and consistent fashion.
Other general comments include:
contains very good planning principles and these need to be retained. These
include the concept of complete communities, intensification and density targets,
infrastructure and community infrastructure planning, transit-supportive
development, and conservation policies.
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The Growth Plan should contain realistic growth targets and there should be
consistency on how the targets are calculated amongst the municipalities. It is
suggested that a rolling average (3-5 years) be used instead of an annual
average.
Growth management plans at a provincial level help protect natural heritage
features.
With respect to policies related to climate change, there needs to be more
prescriptive language. i.e. .
The cultural heritage resource policies in the Growth Plan need to be consistent
with the Provincial Policy Statement 2014.
Clarification is required with respect to the intent of the employment land policies
andwhether be limited to only
include industrial land uses. Although the policies exclude major institutional,
major retail and major office uses from Employment Lands there still is room to
interpret some of these uses as being permitted. Various OMB decisions have
clouded the issue and clarity is required. Clarity is also required regarding
employment land ancillary uses, including but not limited to places of worship,
and smaller retail/commercial and office uses.
More prescriptive and weighted policies with respect to requiring integrated
pedestrian and bicycle networks.
place making go hand in hand with
infrastructure financing/monies.
The inclusion of specific policies in the Growth Plan to support public health.
ALIGNMENT WITH CITY OF KITCHENER STRATEGIC PLAN:
Planning matters and considerations typically align with the Community Priority of
Plan.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS:
There are no direct financial implications as part of this report.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT:
This report is a response to a Provincial initiative. CONSULT - Planning staff met with
staff from other City Divisions to obtain their feedback on the strengths and weaknesses
of the Growth Plan and their comments have been incorporated into this staff report.
Planning staff also met with representatives from the Cities of Waterloo and Cambridge
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along with the Region of Waterloo who will all be making similar reports to their
respective Committees of Council.
INFORM in
advance of the council / committee meeting.
CONCLUSION:
The comments on
Community: A Discussion Document for the 2015 Co-should be
forwarded to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing.
REVIEWED BY:
Natalie Goss, Senior Planner
Brandon Sloan, Manager, Long Range and Policy Planning
ACKNOWLEDGED BY:
Michael May, Deputy CAO (Community Services)
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