LILLEY: Ford to allow land swap to expand Greenbelt and build 50,000 homes
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The Ford government is looking to let developers build on as much as 7,400 acres of current greenbelt land in exchange for swapping in 9,400 acres of other land.
Steve Clark, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, said the goal is to get as many as 50,000 homes built on these lands in the next few years.
“Should these lands be removed from the Greenbelt, the landowners will be expected to develop detailed plans to build housing quickly,” Clark said Friday.
“It is the government’s expectation that new home construction will begin on these lands by no later than 2025, and that significant progress on approvals and implementation must be achieved by the end of 2023.”
Failure to make progress towards building homes would see the land added back into the Greenbelt.
The Greenbelt was established by the McGuinty government in 2005 and has grown to include more than 2 million acres of land along with protected rivers and lakes. Environmentalists are fierce defenders of the Greenbelt, opposing any and all development.
The government has identified 15 parcels of land that are currently part of the Greenbelt and could be swapped out. Those include a large parcel in Ajax at the intersection of Lakeridge Rd. and Hwy. 401 that is already surrounded by development.
Other land being considered for building includes a large plot in Pickering running from just north of Finch Ave. to Hwy. 407, at times abutting the Rouge National Urban Park. There are also plots in Hamilton, Grimsby, Clarington, Richmond Hill, Markham, Vaughan and King Township.
“These proposals will support our municipal partners’ plans for responsible growth and help build at least 50,000 new homes, while leading to an overall expansion of the Greenbelt,” Clark said.
The government has released five criteria for any land swap including a greater than one for one offset, that any land being built on must be adjacent to existing developments and to the Greenbelt, must be readily serviceable and must be ready for building in a short time frame.
Among the 9,400 acres of land the province proposes to add into the Greenbelt are parts of the Paris Galt Moraine and 13 urban river valleys in the Greater Golden Horseshoe. Given that those 13 river valleys are already protected in some ways, environmental groups are likely to say the Ford government is shortchanging the Greenbelt with their addition.
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Hazel McCallion, the longtime former mayor of Mississauga, was recently appointed as chair of the province’s Greenbelt Council. She calls the Greenbelt a great initiative but said mistakes were made that need to be fixed.
“Far too many political decisions were made instead of basing it on facts,” McCallion said, adding some land was added in that shouldn’t have been while other land was left out.
“There is land in the Greenbelt that is fully serviced and we could be building housing on it,” she said.
McCallion said she supports the Ford government making adjustments if they make sense and help bring down the cost of housing.
“Too many young couples can’t afford a house,” McCallion said.
Charles Sousa, the former Liberal MPP for Mississauga and finance minister under Kathleen Wynne, is also a member of the council but agreed there is an opportunity to rectify some mistakes of the past.
“I recognize the importance of the Greenbelt,” Sousa said, “but growth will be happening north and south of the Greenbelt and we have to make sure it’s done right.”
The federal government recently announced plans to bring 500,000 new immigrants to Canada per year starting in 2025. The province estimates Ontario’s population will grow by 2031 with 1.5 million expected to settle in the Greater Golden Horseshoe Region.
That kind of growth requires new housing, the kind the province currently doesn’t have, and that existing municipal plans or Greenbelt restrictions won’t allow. While there is sure to be pushback on this, adding land to the development side in this way makes sense and will help alleviate the housing crisis.
blilley@postmedia.com