Law Times

Law Times • June 29/JuLy 6, 2009 FOCUS No more farmlands for subdivisions BY GLENN KAUTH Law Times I t's deadline day tomor- row for Greater Toronto Area municipalities that have until the end of the month to submit their plans for conforming to the prov- ince's growth restrictions. "What they're saying is no more farmland to be turned into subdivisions," says Marshall Green, a part- ner with Graham Wilson & Green in Barrie. The requirements stem from the province's Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe, a document that set out new standards for population density and intensification of The plan limits growth in Simcoe County's Clearview Township to 2,200 people, for example. At the same time, the township has to foster industries that will employ a certain number of people, according to Green. Barrie, too, must rapidly grow its employment base in order to increase its pop- ulation, he says. For his part, Green is skeptical as to whether the restrictions are realis- existing urban areas. As a result, by 2015, 40 per cent of all residential development will have to happen within built- up land parcels rather than on undeveloped greenfield sites, says Pitman Patterson, a partner with Borden Ladner Gervais LLP in Toronto whose work focuses on municipal and planning law. As well, any projects on fresh sites will have to meet a density target of 50 residents and jobs per hectare within the growth area's inner ring, which includes the GTA and Hamilton. In the outer ring — covering places such as Peterborough and Simcoe County — the target is 40 people and jobs per hectare, according to Patterson. The growth restrictions fol- low years of provincial steps towards returning to a more active role in the planning game. That trend began with concerns over protecting the Oak Ridges Moraine during the last decade and contin- ued with the province's green- belt legislation that protected a wide swath of undeveloped land from new building. The growth plan, then, takes that work a step further by requir- ing municipalities to ensure they're limiting urban sprawl. Key to the scheme is creat- ing more dense communities that mix residential areas with workplaces in order to damp- en the GTA's commuting cul- ture from sprawling suburbs. Making public transit more viable is also at the heart of the plan, Green notes. Given the numerous inter- national awards the provincial scheme has received, Green says the government is espe- cially keen to push municipali- ties to conform to it through the official plan amendments they must propose by tomor- row. But, he notes, meeting the requirements has proven tough, especially in his area, Simcoe County. "The hope on the part of the municipalities is that the province is going to rejig the deadline," he says. Just getting the data on what the current densities are as well as how much is achievable has proven chal- By 2015, 40 per cent of all residential development will have to happen within built-up land parcels rath- er than on undeveloped greenfield sites, says Pitman Patterson. lenging, Green says. As well, with the province allocating an additional 260,000 people to live in fast-growing Simcoe County by 2031, municipali- ties there have been locked in battles on how to divide up those new residents. At the same time, a boundary dispute broke out between Barrie and nearby Innisfil, a situation that recently forced the province to intervene to settle it. It dealt with the population issues as well, Green notes. The places where the new requirements will be most dif- ficult to meet, however, are the rural communities of Simcoe County, according to Green. Under the growth plan, towns have to identify settlements — or villages — within their boundaries. Those settlements cannot grow except through what Green calls an extensive review process in which munic- ipalities will have to prove they have met their density targets. It's that requirement that's at the heart of the goal of protect- ing farmland from develop- ment, Green points out. tic, especially given that in Simcoe County they place significant caps on growth in those rural areas while allowing for greater devel- opment in larger munici- palities such as Bradford, Alliston, Collingwood, Barrie, and Orillia. "If you listen to the municipalities, they'll say 'no,'" he says. Of course, the province does have the power to inter- vene given that the minister of public infrastructure renew- al has the ability to direct municipalities to abide by the restrictions. As well, the min- ister can simply amend the official plan, Patterson says. Already, however, the prov- altered the growth ince has plan in what some observers have characterized as caving in to development pressures. The move came recently when the province announced it would allow new building in an area near Highway 400 that was previously excluded from devel- opment. Speculation has been that lobbying by equipment company Toromont Industries Ltd. — which reportedly had threatened to leave the prov- ince if it couldn't move its operations there — sparked the changes allowing for a new employment zone. "Their will has been bent," says Green. "It's a bit of a chink in the armour in this policy." That issue highlights some of the challenges the growth Get Our Environmental w Specialistson Your Team! Get Our Environmental Law Specialists*on Your Team! Our team of environmental lawyers includes 5 Environmental Law Specialists* We help you help your clients. Call us. Green restrictions present, a sce- nario that's also playing out in Durham County. There, regional councillors are pro- posing new development in a so-called white belt area — land that's below the green- belt but not yet built up — as part of their amendments to the official plan necessary to conform to the province's rules. But the provincial law, of course, emphasizes build- ing in the existing urban areas first before turning to such new tracts of land. As a result of those issues, predicts the ensuing laws and plans will lead to appeals, especially given that the spirit of the provincial leg- islation runs so counter to the GTA's culture of sprawl. "It's going to be very interesting in the next 10 years while this all shakes out, and the Ontario Municipal Board tries to apply these policies," he says. But because of the provin- cial muscle behind the growth restrictions, Patterson doesn't believe the OMB will be over- whelmed with appeals that likely wouldn't have much chance of success anyway. Instead, he expects challenges will come from residents in existing urban areas, the type of people who aren't happy with intensification proposals for a new condo next to their detached home. Still, he predicts the overall process of changing the char- acter of development will be a difficult one. "I think the municipalities have an incred- ible challenge to address all the provincial initiatives that are coming their way," he says. LT Visit us online! canadianlawyermag.com lawtimesnews.com PAGE 9 Fresh content delivered weekly. Canadian Lawyer Law Times 4Students InHouse House-Online_LT_Mar16_09.indd 1 3/11/09 2:45:27 PM www.willmsshier.com * Certified by the Law Society of Upper Canada ENVIRONMENT, ENERGY & RESOURCES LAW www.lawtimesnews.com Juli Abouchar 416 862 4836 Doug Petrie 416 862 4835 John Willms 416 862 4821 Donna Shier 416 862 4822 Marc McAree 416 862 4820 Law Times #MS07-06B – 7-7/8" x 4-7/8"

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