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ns id eh al to n. co m O ak vi lle B ea ve r | T hu rs da y, M ay 1 0, 20 18 | ■£> Agentlft The first F R E E marketing platform for Real-Estate Professionals O F R E E M e m b e r F o ru m O F R E E A r t ic le s & G u id e s O F R E E R e fe r ra l D i r e c to r y O F R E E M a r k e t in g C h e c k l is ts NEWS Doug Ford says he's abandoning Greenbelt developm ent plans Metroland file photo PC Party Leader Doug Ford speaks at a recent chambers of commerce luncheon at the Burlington Convention Centre. DAVID LEA dlea@metroland.com Doug Ford says public opinion has changed his mind about opening up the Greenbelt for development. In a press released is­ sued Tuesday, May 1, the Progressive Conservative leader announced that, af­ ter consultation with the people of Ontario, an Onta­ rio PC Government would maintain the Greenbelt in its entirety if elected. Trouble for Ford started Monday, April 30, when the Ontario Liberals released a video from Feb. 12, which shows Ford discussing his plans for the Greenbelt. "We will open up the Greenbelt, not all of it, but we are going to open a big chunk of it up, and we are going to start building and making it more affordable and putting more houses out there," said the then PC leadership candidate in the video. "The demand for single­ dwelling homes is huge, but no one can afford them. We need to start building af­ fordable housing." Ford said he had already spoken to some of the big­ gest developers in Canada on this subject. He also credited these developers with coming up with this idea. When asked about his comments in this video on April 30, Ford told the me­ dia that for every piece of Greenbelt land opened for development he would add equivalent land to the pro­ tected area to ensure the size doesn't change. Ford now appears to backing away from a Greenbelt development plan altogether. "I looked at it as making sure we have more afford­ able housing," said Ford. "There have been a lot of voices saying that they don't want (us) to touch the Greenbelt. I govern through the people. I don't govern through govern­ ment. The people have spo­ ken: we won't touch the Greenbelt -- very simple." Ford's reversal was well received by Oakville Mayor Rob Burton. "It's great to see such a change of heart," he said. "I'm pleased Doug Ford has realized affordable housing can't be solved in the Greenbelt. We know a lot about affordable hous­ ing in Oakville. About 45 per cent of new Oakville housing is in the affordable category. In fact, 69 per cent of all new affordable hous­ ing in Halton is in Oakville. We have built capacity for and approved thousands of units of housing that devel­ opers have not yet built. We need more qualified trades workers and better con­ trols against speculators if we want more affordable housing opportunities." Ford's previous state­ ments resulted in the Town of Oakville reaffirming its commitment to the Green­ belt. Oakville council voted unanimously Monday, April 30, to stand with its municipal neighbours to undertake continued ac­ tion to maintain and grow the protected lands. The Halton Region boasts a large area legally protected by Ontario's Greenbelt. The councillors also called on the province to ex­ tend Greenbelt protections to the appropriate White- belt lands within the Great­ er Golden Horseshoe's "in­ ner ring." Whitebelt lands are lo­ cated between the outer edge of approved urban set­ tlement areas surrounding the Greater Toronto Area and Hamilton and the Greenbelt Plan area. They are currently un­ developed but are not pro­ tected from development in the future. Ward 2 Town and Re­ gional Coun. Cathy Dud- deck, who brought the mo­ tion forward, called the Greenbelt an integral part of land-use planning, which encourages the re­ duction of sprawl and pro­ tects natural and hydrolog­ ical features and agricul­ tural lands. She noted the Greenbelt has protected more than 1.8 million acres of farmland, local food supplies, head­ waters of rivers, important forests and wildlife habitat for more than 12 years. "There is a tremendous amount of land already planned and available in excess of the development needs of the GTA without weakening the Greenbelt," said Duddeck. "Opening the Greenbelt will move the urban bound­ ary thus creating more sprawl and increased traf­ fic." Duddeck also pointed out that more urban sprawl means increased taxes for local residents. She said that, with the • See GREENBELT, page 7 mailto:dlea@metroland.com