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OMB challenges anticipated for regional official plan By Tim Foran OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF 3 · Tuesday, December 22, 2009 OAKVILLE BEAVER · www.oakvillebeaver.com Halton regional council on Wednesday unanimously approved an update to its official plan that will guide growth and oversee development between now and 2031, when the region's population is expected to grow by almost two-thirds to 780,000. However, that 100 per cent acceptance did not exist amongst members of the public who turned out for the council session, many of whom provided conflicting viewpoints on the same issues, including where new growth should go, how to provide south Georgetown with water in the future, and the controversial Natural Heritage System land use designations being added to the official plan. Some environmentalists said the update, dubbed ROPA 38, opens the door to too much sprawl by designating close to 3,000 hectares for what's called greenfield development - building subdivisions and employment areas on currently agricultural and rural land in Milton and Georgetown that will ultimately accommodate 83,000 people between 2021 and 2031. Developers, on the other hand, submitted that the Region's requirement, rather than encouragement, that the lower-tier municipalities also intensify by planning to accommodate 60,000 people within already built up urban areas could unfairly delay such greenfield development. Council did not make any last minute changes on this point, as the Region has said it is meeting Provincially-mandated minimum targets. On a separate issue, Leslie Adams, a repre- sentative for POWER, a Halton Hills environmental group, told council she hoped the Region would be able to service southwest Georgetown, slated to eventually get more than 20,000 people under the Region's preferred growth option, using existing well water systems rather than extending water pipes from Lake Ontario - the so-called Big Pipe that opened the door to Milton's massive development ten years ago. The Region said it won't finalize that decision until 2010. However, Mark Pakvocic, a representative of the South Georgetown Landowners Group, said the Region would have to service Georgetown with the Big Pipe. He said due to the large cost of that infrastructure project and the Region's expectation developers would have to pay for it, his client's proposal for 30,000 to 50,000 people was more financially feasible and represented better planning. "In closing, we would like to advise council at this time that if our lands are not included in this plan for urban development upon approval, we will have no choice but to protect our interests and refer this plan to the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB)," stated Pakvocic, a threat ultimately ignored by council as it went ahead and passed ROPA 38 soon afterwards. Developers, lawyers, and municipal staff have all indicated privately they fully expect the Region's official plan update to be challenged at the OMB, a common occurrence. The last major update to the official plan, ROPA 25, was appealed at the OMB by numerous landowners and developers and Halton's budget forecasts include $4.5 million over the next two years for OMB hearings. On one point, there was some commonality expressed by two groups. Both farmers and developers expressed concern about the Natural Heritage System (NHS) land use designations included on the main map accompanying ROPA 38, a swath of green covering more than 48,000 hectares in the Greenbelt, Niagara Escarpment and in the flat farmlands slated for future development as well as in existing urban areas. While the vast majority of land had already been designated for protection under various Provincial and local municipal official plans, the NHS expands on those designations by adding new key features for permanent protection -- for example, significant woodlands and areas the Province is considering, but hasn't decided on, as being of natural or scientific interest. The NHS connects those features into a system with the use of buffers and linkage corridors which allow for agriculture in rural areas but are no touch zones in urban areas. Farmers have expressed concern the sheer amount of key features in the NHS would make something as simple as building a new barn subject to an environmental impact assessment. "(The Halton Agricultural Advisory Committee) does not accept that the implementation of the proposed NHS will not have a negative impact on agriculture," said HAAC chair Glenn Powell. "That is a conclusion reached by other than those who are farming the land." Regional staff told council they are commit- ted to resolving any outstanding issues expressed by the agricultural community over the NHS. ROPA 38 does allow mapping of the NHS to be modified based on scientific assessments. In the end, council voted in favour of the NHS with some slight modifications, such as easing restrictions on 114 hectares of prime farmland south of Georgetown, and promising farmers that existing agricultural rights on land that isn't a key NHS feature won't be removed when the official plan is updated again in five years time. It was a quiet end to a tumultuous two weeks in Halton regional politics over the fate of the NHS, which was included in the official plan update process two-and-a-half years ago. Both Halton Hills Councillor Jane Fogal and Mayor Rob Burton put out letters that drew derision from offended residents. In Fogal's open letter to council on Dec. 5, she questioned whether the ranks of the environmental lobby supporting the NHS "have been infiltrated by developers" who want to see the death of farming. Burton, in turn, issued a press release in which he stated: "The Halton NHS is under a last-minute attack by forces fronting for developers..." Burton did not address his letter, but congratulated Halton Hills Mayor Rick Bonnette and the Halton Hills councillors for finding a solution that brought people together. 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