2020-Mar-09
Some Success for GBA Submission on Ontario’s Provincial Policy Statement
In 2019, GBA made a submission to the Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing on the proposed Provincial Policy Statement, 2020 (PPS, 2020). The Provincial Policy Statement, 2020 has now been finalized and some of the changes and exclusions in the final statement reflect GBA’s recommendations. Matters that were addressed in GBA’s submission are highlighted below.
The key changes include:
- adding further references to support a changing climate and green infrastructure
- adding policy direction that is responsive to the recommendations of the province’s Special Advisor on Flooding.
- increasing the minimum requirement for housing land supply to 15 years
- clarifying the policies related to market-based housing by adding a reference to affordable housing
- providing flexibility for municipalities to consider residential development on rural lands that is locally appropriate, including lot creation
- enhancing land use compatibility policies for sensitive land uses
In response to feedback, a number of policy proposals have been excluded from the final PPS, 2020. These include:
- “fast-tracking” municipal approvals
- requiring agricultural impact assessments for non-agricultural uses in prime agricultural areas and for settlement area boundary expansions
- a voluntary wetland mitigation hierarchy approach for wetlands that are not provincially significant wetlands
- clarifying that rehabilitation plans for aggregate extraction can contribute to the demonstration of no negative impacts in some natural heritage features.
You can view GBA’s October 2019 submission on this here.
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