A proposed bill would open nearly 2 million acres of protected land to commercial and industrial development.
TVO reporter John Michael McGrath sounds the alarm on a proposal to deregulate development in the environmentally protected Toronto Greenbelt. The Greenbelt was created in 2005 and is considered a landmark achievement for smart growth in Canada, as well as being popular with Ontario voters.
In May, then-candidate and now Premier Doug Ford suggested that he would open the Greenbelt to affordable housing development. But the actual legislation proposed—the sweeping Bill 66, to be debated in the Ontario Legislature next year—takes a different tack. "The intent is to attract major employers to the province and allow them to speed through municipal-planning approvals for such developments as factories and office parks — the changes are not intended to speed the development of housing," McGrath notes.
The bill would allow municipalities to create "open for business" zoning bylaws where commercial projects could bypass major provincial environmental and planning legislation. Projects could be exempted not only from laws designed to curb sprawl, like the Metrolinx Act, the Places to Grow Act, and the Greenbelt Act, but also from laws governing clean water and waste—including the Clean Water Act, Great Lakes Protection Act, and Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Act. It will be debated when Ontario's legislative session resumes in February 2019.
FULL STORY: Tories’ bill could punch factory-sized holes in the Greenbelt
In Reversal, Ontario Government Could Open Toronto Greenbelt to Development
The Toronto Greenbelt was an urban growth boundary created in 2005 as one of the most obvious political victories for the Smart Growth movement in North America. A new bill would reverse course on the region’s growth policies.
Doug Ford, Candidate for Ontario Premier, Would Open Toronto Greenbelt to Development
A prominent conservative with an infamous name is promoting single-family home development in the Toronto greenbelt as a way to release pressure on the Toronto housing market.
Orange County, Florida Adopts Largest US “Sprawl Repair” Code
The ‘Orange Code’ seeks to rectify decades of sprawl-inducing, car-oriented development.
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
New Jersey’s second-largest city bans standalone data centers
Jersey City will continue to allow co-location facilities, such as those meant for research institutions that store their own data.
Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds
A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.
EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants
Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.
Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses
Both new services will launch in October, and are part of Phoenix's Project Effective Access Solutions for Easing Congestion.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association